The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a convicted drug trafficker who allegedly returned to the illicit trade after disguising himself as an herbal tea businessman.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Ebubechukwu, was arrested during an intelligence-led sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos State, on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The NDLEA said the suspect came under investigation after its operatives intercepted 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The consignment was reportedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted that he had masterminded several drug shipments in the past and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said further investigation revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, in 2011.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu was arrested at the airport after he allegedly ingested 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.
The spokesman added that the suspect later changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu before allegedly returning to the drug trade.
A search of his residence on Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, reportedly led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. The internal components of the chargers had been removed to create spaces for drugs.
In a separate operation in Ondo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly being used to transport a large consignment of cannabis.
The tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway on Friday after its driver allegedly refused to stop when ordered by the operatives.
The driver reportedly abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into a nearby bush.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg. The illicit drugs were allegedly hidden alongside the tanker’s legitimate fuel cargo, which was reportedly being transported to Jos, Plateau State.
At the Lagos airport, the agency also intercepted 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg with an estimated street value of more than N1.1bn.
Babafemi said the opioids were concealed among thrift trousers contained in a 21-carton consignment shipped from Pakistan.
Another seizure at the airport involved 57.8kg of Loud, a potent cannabis strain, valued at more than N173m. The substance was reportedly hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for several weeks.
At the Lagos seaport, NDLEA officers intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies packed in 890 parcels inside a 40-foot container.
The agency said the consignment was linked to three suspects already in custody over the earlier seizure of 842.54kg of similar cannabis-laced cookies.
In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid tablets, mainly Tramadol, from a residence allegedly linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.
According to the NDLEA, Frank’s Honda Civic rammed into an agency patrol vehicle before he escaped.
Another suspect, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested in Michika with 2kg of methamphetamine. The agency described him as a major supplier allegedly moving the substance from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis.
At the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi, another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was reportedly intercepted with a large quantity of Tramadol and other opioids concealed in a Ford Galaxy bus loaded with soap.
The agency also reported significant seizures and arrests in several other states.
In Lagos, its operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350g 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 after 636kg of cannabis was allegedly discovered concealed in chicken manure inside a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari with more than 109kg of assorted controlled drugs, including Tramadol, Diazepam, Pentazocine, Phenobarbital, Exol-5, Nitrazepam, Bromazepam and Pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck carrying bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk concealed in the vehicle.
The agency also arrested 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru in Bauchi following a follow-up operation after 322.5kg of cannabis was seized in Deba, Gombe State, on September 1.
In Ekiti State, officers discovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis plantation in a forest in Efon-Alaaye. Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested, while 117kg of harvested cannabis was recovered.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 Tramadol capsules.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to maintain the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to combating illicit drugs.
Marwa warned drug traffickers that changing identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would not shield them from law enforcement.
He also directed the agency’s commands and formations to sustain a balance between enforcement operations and its War Against Drug Abuse campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.