Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman while masterminding a string of illicit drug shipments, including a 1.2kg cocaine consignment destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In a statement on Sunday, September 6, 2026, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite the Trade Fair Market in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, September 4. The arrest followed weeks of intelligence-led operations by the agency's Directorate of Operations and General Investigation after the cocaine shipment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026.
According to Babafemi, Ebubechukwu admitted to masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted. However, further investigation revealed that the suspect is no stranger to the NDLEA. He was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch. He was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison. After serving his term, he changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returned to the criminal trade.
A search of the suspect's residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs. The arrest was part of a coordinated crackdown by the agency across nine states, during which operatives also intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for illicit drugs and recovered large consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, and other psychotropic substances. At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg, valued at over N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan. They also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at over N173 million, hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach. He urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency's balanced drug control strategy, adding that traffickers who attempt to reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down. The arrest of Ebubechukwu underscores the NDLEA's determination to pursue drug traffickers regardless of how they attempt to conceal their identities or operations. As Marwa noted, a change of name does not erase a criminal past, and those who return to the trade will be held accountable.
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