Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade after serving a five-year jail term, this time disguising himself as a herbal tea businessman in Lagos.
The 34-year-old suspect, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos on Friday, September 4, 2026.
According to the NDLEA, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted by the agency.
Further investigation showed that the suspect had previously been arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The agency said he later changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu before allegedly returning to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence at Ejigbo, Lagos, also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. The internal components of the chargers had been removed to create space for drugs.
The arrest formed part of a wider NDLEA crackdown that resulted in the interception of large consignments of tramadol, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances across Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan.
Operatives also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million in street value. The substance was concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies.
In another major discovery, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State after the driver allegedly refused to stop.
The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush. A search of the vehicle uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, hidden alongside its legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, the agency also intercepted another 598.08kg, contained in 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container. The consignment was linked to three suspects already in custody following the earlier seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.
In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank. The suspect allegedly rammed his Honda Civic into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before escaping.
Another suspect, Calistus Ebubechukwu, 35, described by the agency as a major methamphetamine supplier operating between Lagos, Mubi and Michika, was arrested in Michika with 2kg of the substance.
The agency also intercepted Attahiru Hussaini with a large consignment of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of rohypnol in the Gbaji area. Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis in Agbara.
Across other states, NDLEA operations produced further seizures and arrests. In Kogi, three suspects were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Ondo State to Jos.
In Taraba, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested with more than 109kg of assorted controlled medicines, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, nitrazepam and pregabalin, which he was allegedly transporting from Onitsha to Yola.
In Kaduna, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk. In Bauchi, a suspect was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis in Gombe State.
In Ekiti, two suspects were arrested after officers uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, recovering 117kg of already-harvested skunk. In Enugu, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency said its officers conducted awareness activities for nursing mothers and nurses in Ogun State, youths in Abia State, and NLNG staff and concessionaires in Rivers State, among others.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to combating drug trafficking.
Marwa warned that traffickers who attempt to evade detection by adopting new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
The latest operations underline the scale of the NDLEA’s ongoing War Against Drug Abuse, with authorities targeting not only drug consignments but also the networks and individuals allegedly working behind seemingly legitimate businesses to move illicit substances across Nigeria and beyond.
