The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade after changing his identity and adopting a legitimate business front.
The 34-year-old suspect, identified as 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.
He was reportedly posing as a herbal tea businessman at the time of his arrest.
The arrest followed weeks of intelligence-led tracking by operatives of the agency’s Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) after a cocaine shipment was intercepted in Lagos.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said operatives had, on July 31, intercepted 1.2kg of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos.
The consignment was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Investigators subsequently traced the shipment to Ebubechukwu, who allegedly admitted to masterminding some drug shipments in the past.
He also told investigators that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The investigation further revealed that the suspect had previously been convicted for drug trafficking.
According to the NDLEA, he was arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was prosecuted under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
He subsequently changed his name 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 used in concealing the intercepted cocaine.
Their internal components had reportedly been removed to create compartments for drugs.
NDLEA intercepts tanker carrying 2.1 tonnes of cannabis
In another major operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday.
The tanker, which the agency said had previously been notorious for evading arrest, was pursued after its driver refused to stop.
The driver eventually abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into the bush.
A search of the tanker uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo reportedly being transported to Jos, Plateau State.
At Lagos airport, operatives also seized 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan.
Another seizure involved 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million in street value.
The drug was concealed in cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks.
The discovery was made during a joint examination by NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
More drug seizures across Lagos, Kogi, Ekiti and Enugu
The agency also reported the seizure of 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies, contained in 890 packets, from a 40-foot container at Tin Can Port, Lagos, on Wednesday, September 2.
The shipment was linked to three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — who were arrested barely a month earlier in connection with the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies at the same port.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grams of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji on September 4.
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, along the Okene/Lokoja highway.
NDLEA operatives in Ekiti State also arrested Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, after discovering and destroying a four-hectare cannabis farm in the Efon-Alaaye forest. They recovered 117kg of already harvested skunk.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
The NDLEA said its commands and formations also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign during the week, taking drug-abuse awareness programmes to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers involved in the operations for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
Marwa urged personnel to maintain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, warning that traffickers who attempt to evade detection by adopting new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
