The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly reinvented himself as a herbal tea merchant while coordinating illicit drug shipments to Saudi Arabia, as the agency recorded major seizures and arrests across nine states.
The suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested on September 4, 2026, at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in Ojo, Lagos, following weeks of intelligence-led surveillance by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).
His arrest followed the interception on July 31 of 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos. The consignment was allegedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The NDLEA said Ebubechukwu admitted during interrogation that he had masterminded previous drug shipments and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
Investigations further revealed that he had previously been arrested by the agency in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was subsequently prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. According to the NDLEA, he later changed his name and returned to the illicit drug trade under the guise of a legitimate herbal tea business.
A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, also resulted in the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. The internal components of the chargers had reportedly been removed to create compartments for drugs.
The arrest came amid a nationwide enforcement offensive that yielded substantial seizures of cocaine, cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine, codeine, rohypnol and other controlled substances in Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives seized 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment imported from Pakistan.
The agency also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore. The consignment had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before it was subjected to a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies on September 3.
In Ondo State, operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway after its 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, alongside the legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At Tincan Port, Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted another 598.08kg consignment comprising 890 packets of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container on September 2.
The agency said the latest seizure 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 pills of opioids, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, along the Damilu and Jambutu axis of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.
The suspect reportedly rammed his Honda Civic into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before escaping.
Also in Adamawa, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, identified as a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, was arrested in Michika with 2kg of methamphetamine.
At Namtari checkpoint in Mubi, operatives intercepted Attahiru Hussaini with a large consignment of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus.
In Lagos, NDLEA personnel 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 at Gbaji. Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
In Kogi State, three suspects—Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25—were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State, along the Okene/Lokoja highway.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla, marked KUJ-333BT, from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
A follow-up operation in Bauchi led to the arrest of 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru following the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town, Gombe State, on September 1.
In Ekiti State, two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after operatives discovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest. A total of 117kg of already-harvested skunk was recovered.
Similarly, in Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction on September 5 with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA commands and formations nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns, taking prevention messages to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency conducted awareness programmes for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre, Abeokuta North, Ogun State; youths in Umouji/Okwo community, Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State; and staff and concessionaires of NLNG at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands for what he described as professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, combining aggressive enforcement with prevention, public education and community engagement.
He warned that drug traffickers who attempt to evade law enforcement by changing identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
The latest operations underscore the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by trafficking networks, which have resorted to concealing illicit drugs in phone chargers, clothing, hand-glove cartons, shipping containers, chicken manure, cement trucks and fuel tankers.
For the NDLEA, the arrest of Ebubechukwu represents a significant intelligence breakthrough, as a man previously convicted for cocaine and heroin trafficking allegedly changed his identity, adopted a legitimate business front and returned to the illicit trade—only to be apprehended again by law enforcement.
