The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to the drug trade under a new identity and disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old 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.
His arrest followed an intelligence-led investigation into a 1.2kg cocaine shipment concealed inside phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The consignment was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
According to the NDLEA, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The agency said the suspect had previously been arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after he ingested 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The NDLEA said he subsequently changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the illicit drug business.
A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. The internal components of the chargers had been removed to create compartments for the drugs.
Over 1.8 million opioid pills intercepted
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg valued at more than N1.1 billion.
The drugs were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan.
The agency also seized 57.8kg of Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed in cartons of disposable hand gloves imported from Singapore. The shipment had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on September 3.
Fuel tanker conceals 2.1 tonnes of cannabis
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly fitted with a concealed compartment for transporting cannabis.
The tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway on September 4 after the driver reportedly refused to stop.
The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the tanker uncovered 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, hidden alongside its legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
Cannabis-laced cookies seized at Lagos port
The agency also intercepted another 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container at the Lagos port on September 2.
The seizure came barely a month after three suspects—Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji—were arrested in connection with the seizure of 842.54kg of similar cannabis-infused cookies at Tin Can Island Port.
The latest consignment was reportedly linked to the suspects already in custody.
Major seizures across states
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly Tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, whose Honda Civic reportedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In Michika, a suspected major methamphetamine supplier, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested with 2kg of the substance.
Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with a large quantity of Tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus.
In Lagos, 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 ar