NDLEA Arrests Convicted Trafficker Posing as Tea Seller Over Saudi-Bound Cocaine Shipment

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding shipments of cocaine from Lagos to Saudi Arabia while disguising himself as a herbal tea businessman.

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos on Friday, September 4.

His arrest followed intelligence-led investigations into a 1.2 kilogramme cocaine consignment intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The cocaine was concealed inside phone chargers and was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted being behind some illicit drug shipments in the past. He reportedly discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

Investigators linked him to a previous drug trafficking case. In 2011, he was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in 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. Following his conviction, he changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returned 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. Investigators said the internal components had been removed to create space for drugs.

The arrest formed part of a crackdown by the agency, which recorded seizures and arrests across several states.

At Lagos airport, operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg valued at more than N1.1 billion. The tablets were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.

The agency also recovered 57.80 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations.

Marwa warned that traffickers who attempt to reinvent themselves through new identities or legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.