The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman while masterminding illicit drug shipments, including a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine bound for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4.
The arrest followed intelligence-led investigations after the cocaine consignment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
The suspect, according to the NDLEA, is a repeat offender who was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, 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. After his release, he allegedly changed his name and returned to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence at Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, reportedly led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. Their internal components had allegedly been removed to create compartments for drugs.
The arrest was part of a coordinated NDLEA crackdown across nine states, which also resulted in the seizure of large quantities of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other illicit substances.
At the Lagos airport, operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1bn, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
The agency also seized 57.8kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis valued at more than N173m, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore. The consignment had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before it was examined 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 after its driver allegedly refused to stop along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway. The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped 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 Tin Can Port, Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container on September 2. The seizure was linked to three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — who had been arrested about a month earlier over another seizure involving 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, in the Damilu/Jambutu axis of Jimeta, Yola North. Frank allegedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle with his Honda Civic before escaping.
Also in Adamawa, a 35-year-old suspected methamphetamine supplier, Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested in Michika with 2kg of the substance.
The agency said Attahiru Hussaini was also intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with tramadol and other opioids allegedly concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted 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 allegedly concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.
In Taraba, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari with more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with cement bags along the Zaria-Kano Expressway in Kaduna State and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.
In Bauchi, Hamza Dahiru, 25, was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town in Gombe State on September 1.
In Ekiti State, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest. About 117kg of already-harvested cannabis was recovered.
In Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Babafemi said NDLEA commands across the country also continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation programmes in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
He said the agency conducted enlightenment lectures for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre in Abeokuta North, Ogun State; youths in Umouji/Okwo community in Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State; and NLNG staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the agency’s officers for what he described as professional and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged personnel to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, warning that traffickers who attempt to evade detection by adopting new identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.