Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has delivered a series of devastating blows to drug trafficking networks across the country, intercepting a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment carrying 2,145 kilogrammes of cannabis, and arresting a convicted cocaine trafficker who had disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman to mastermind a Saudi-bound cocaine shipment. The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed these successes in a statement on Sunday, September 6, 2026, detailing the agency's coordinated operations across nine states that also led to the seizure of large consignments of tramadol, methamphetamine, and other psychotropic substances.
In one of the most dramatic operations, NDLEA operatives pursued a 20,000-litre fuel tanker with registration number MKA 960 XC along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday, September 4, after its driver allegedly refused to stop. The tanker, which had reportedly evaded arrest in the past, was chased until the driver abandoned it on church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush. A search of the tanker revealed a false compartment concealing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State. The seizure was described by the agency as one of the week's most brazen discoveries.
In a separate intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives arrested 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, a convicted cocaine trafficker who had been operating under the guise of a herbal tea business. The arrest followed the interception of a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026. Ebubechukwu was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, September 4. He admitted to masterminding previous illicit drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation revealed that Ebubechukwu is no stranger to the NDLEA. He was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, 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 drug trafficking. A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, 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 coordinated crackdown also recorded significant successes 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 seized 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. At the Tincan Port in Lagos, operatives intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies concealed in a 40-foot container, with three suspects arrested in connection with the seizure.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach, urging personnel across the country to sustain the agency's balanced drug control strategy. He stressed that traffickers who attempt to reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down, and that a change of name does not erase a criminal past. The successful operations underscore the NDLEA's determination to pursue drug traffickers regardless of how they attempt to conceal their identities or operations, and to dismantle the sophisticated networks that have turned Nigeria into a transit hub for illicit drugs.
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