NDLEA Arrests Convicted Cocaine Trafficker Disguised as Herbal Tea Merchant in Lagos

 NDLEA Arrests Convicted Cocaine Trafficker Disguised as Herbal Tea Merchant in Lagos

.....Agency seizes drug-laden fuel tanker, recovers over 2 million opioid pills, cannabis and methamphetamine in nine-state crackdown

LAGOS, Sept. 6, 2026 — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly operated under the guise of a herbal tea merchant, intercepted a fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for illicit drugs, and recovered large consignments of opioids, cannabis, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances in a coordinated crackdown across nine states.

The operations, conducted in Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu, also led to the seizure of more than two million pills of opioids, including tramadol, and several tonnes of cannabis.

Convicted trafficker rearrested in Lagos

The NDLEA said its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) tracked the mastermind of a cocaine shipment intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026.

The 1.2kg consignment, concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was intercepted following intelligence-led operations.

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, Sept. 4, while allegedly posing as a herbal tea businessman.

According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted in his statement that he masterminded some illicit drug shipments in the past. He also disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

Further investigation revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, in 2011 after ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.

He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The NDLEA said he later changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade.

A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. Their internal components had been removed to create space for drugs.

Airport seizures

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

The agency also seized 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at over N173 million in street value. The substance was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks.

The seizure was made during a joint examination involving NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Fuel tanker conceals 2,145kg of cannabis

In one of the major discoveries of the week, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday.

The agency said the tanker, which had allegedly evaded arrest in the past, was chased after its driver 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 revealed a false compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.

Tincan Port seizure linked to suspects in custody

Barely a month after the arrest of three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — over the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies at Tincan Port, Lagos, the NDLEA said another 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets of similarly infused cookies and gummies, was intercepted at the port.

The latest consignment, seized from a 40-foot container on Wednesday, Sept. 2, was linked to the suspects already in custody.

Adamawa operations yield opioids and methamphetamine

In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Damilu and Jambutu axis in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, on Friday recovered 864,000 pills of opioids, especially tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.

The agency said Frank’s Honda Civic car rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.

In another operation in Michika, a major methamphetamine supplier allegedly operating from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested with 2kg of the substance.

The arrest was made on Friday, Sept. 4.

Also in Adamawa, Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on Monday, Aug. 31, with a large quantity of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

The agency’s statement put the quantity at 750,027,530 pills.

Other recoveries across the states

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350g of cocaine, over 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.

Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis at Agbara.

In Kogi State, three suspects — Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25 — were arrested with 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State, along the Okene/Lokoja Highway.

In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with over 109kg of assorted pharmaceutical opioids and other psychotropic substances.

The drugs, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin, were allegedly being conveyed in his Toyota Corolla car marked KUJ-333BT from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.

In Bauchi State, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town, Gombe State, on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

In Ekiti State, two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after NDLEA operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye Forest. The operation also led to the recovery of 117kg of already-harvested skunk.

In Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of tramadol on Saturday, Sept. 5.

NDLEA commends officers, vows to track traffickers

The agency said its Commands and formations across the country also continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the week.

The activities included enlightenment lectures for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre, Abeokuta North, Ogun State; youths of Umouji/Okwo community at Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area, Abia State; and NLNG staff and concessionaires at Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal, Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State, among others.

Commending the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.

Marwa urged the officers and their colleagues across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.

He reiterated that traffickers who believe they can reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.