NDLEA cocaine trafficker operation has led to the arrest of a convicted drug dealer accused of disguising himself as a herbal tea businessman after a 1.2kg cocaine shipment to Saudi Arabia was intercepted.
LAGOS, NIGERIA — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, a convicted cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding drug shipments to Saudi Arabia after investigators traced a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed inside phone chargers in Lagos. The NDLEA said operatives arrested the suspect during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market in the Ojo area of Lagos, on September 4, 2026.
The agency said the investigation began after its operatives intercepted the cocaine shipment at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The consignment, hidden inside phone chargers, was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the NDLEA, officers from its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) then launched an intelligence-led operation to identify and track the person behind the shipment.
The agency said the investigation eventually led officers to Ebubechukwu, who allegedly operated under the cover of a herbal tea business. Officers arrested him while posing as customers during the sting operation at Article Market.
In a statement released on Sunday, the NDLEA said the suspect admitted that he had masterminded some illicit drug shipments in the past. He also reportedly told investigators that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the agency had intercepted his latest consignment.
Newstridez reviewed the NDLEA statement and found that the agency linked the suspect to an earlier drug trafficking conviction dating back to 2011. Investigators said officers arrested him that year at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after he allegedly ingested 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
The NDLEA said he was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison over the 2011 offence. The agency further alleged that he later changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu before returning to the illicit drug trade.
Following his latest arrest, NDLEA officers searched his residence at Yemishola Street in Ejigbo, Lagos. The agency said officers recovered several phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine shipment.
The chargers reportedly had their internal components removed, creating spaces where drugs could be hidden. The discovery strengthened the agency’s suspicion that the same concealment method had been used in the cocaine shipment intercepted in July.
The latest operation formed part of a wider NDLEA crackdown across nine states, according to the agency. The operation also produced seizures of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other controlled substances in Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu.
In Lagos, the NDLEA said officers recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg at the Lagos airport. The consignment, worth more than N1.1 billion according to the agency, arrived from Pakistan and was concealed among thrift trousers in 21 cartons.
Officers also recovered 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, from cartons of disposable hand gloves in another shipment from Singapore. The agency said the shipment had remained unclaimed for weeks before NDLEA officers, Customs officials and other security agencies jointly examined it.
Another major seizure occurred in Ondo State, where NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker suspected of transporting drugs alongside its legitimate cargo.
The agency said officers chased the tanker along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway on September 4 after the driver refused to stop. The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into the bush.
A search of the tanker reportedly uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg. The legitimate fuel cargo was reportedly headed for Jos, Plateau State.
The NDLEA also reported another major seizure at the Tincan Port in Lagos, where officers intercepted 598.08kg of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container. The agency linked the seizure to three suspects previously arrested over 842.54kg of similar cannabis-laced cookies.
In Adamawa State, officers recovered 864,000 opioid pills from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, while another operation led to the arrest of a 35-year-old alleged methamphetamine supplier with 2kg of the substance.
The agency also reported seizures and arrests in Kogi, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti and Enugu as part of the nationwide operation.
In Kogi State, three suspects were arrested after officers allegedly found 636kg of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Ondo State towards Jos.
In Taraba, officers arrested a 58-year-old suspect allegedly transporting more than 109kg of assorted controlled medicines, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine and pregabalin, in a Toyota Corolla.
The NDLEA said officers in Kaduna also intercepted a truck carrying cement and recovered 1,179kg of skunk, while officers in Ekiti uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye.
The scale of the seizures highlights the different methods drug traffickers use to move controlled substances across Nigeria and internationally, including concealment inside ordinary commercial goods, vehicles and legitimate cargo.
For Lagos, the arrest also draws attention to the role of courier services and commercial supply chains in international drug trafficking. The intercepted cocaine shipment was reportedly heading outside Nigeria, showing how local logistics networks can become part of international trafficking routes.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to maintain the agency’s intelligence-led approach.
Marwa warned that traffickers who attempt to evade investigators by adopting new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to face pursuit by the agency.
The arrest of Ebubechukwu also raises questions about the ability of convicted traffickers to return to the drug trade after serving prison sentences. The NDLEA’s account suggests that investigators will now examine the suspect’s latest activities, his alleged network and other shipments potentially connected to him.
The allegations remain subject to the legal process, and the suspect is entitled to defend himself in court. The NDLEA has not disclosed the full details of its ongoing investigation or identified all persons who may have been involved in the alleged trafficking network.
As of the time of filing this report, the agency had not announced a court date or disclosed whether additional suspects had been arrested in connection with the Saudi Arabia-bound cocaine shipment.
The investigation is expected to determine the extent of the alleged network and whether other consignments previously sent through the same route can be linked to the suspect.
The NDLEA says it has arrested a previously convicted drug trafficker after tracing a 1.2kg cocaine shipment bound for Riyadh. The agency is continuing its investigation while its wider crackdown has produced major drug seizures across nine states.
