A convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly changed his name and returned to the illicit drugs trade under the cover of a herbal tea business has been arrested in Lagos, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said on Sunday.
The suspect, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, 34, was arrested on Friday at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos.
In a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Mr Ebubechukwu’s arrest followed the interception of 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 31 July.
He explained that the operatives of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) traced the consignment to Mr Ebubechukwu after weeks of intelligence gathering.
The suspect allegedly told investigators that he had masterminded some drug shipments in the past. He also said he threw away his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The agency noted that a search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, produced phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the cocaine.
The chargers had their internal components removed to create space for the drugs.
From previous conviction to alleged return to trafficking
Mr Ebubechukwu is not new to the drug trade, according to NDLEA.
The agency stated that he was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was later prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
After serving his sentence, the suspect changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returned to trafficking.
The agency noted that his latest arrest was part of a wider operation conducted across nine states in the past week.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives seized 966,200 tablets of tramadol 225mg worth more than N1.1 billion. The tablets were hidden among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
The agency also recovered 57.8 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, from another consignment from Singapore. The drug was concealed in cartons of disposable hand gloves.
The consignment had remained unclaimed for weeks before NDLEA officers, Customs officials and other security agencies examined it on Thursday.
In Ondo State, officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker after its driver allegedly refused to stop along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway.
The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
The NDLEA stated that officers subsequently discovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145 kilogrammes. The tanker was also carrying fuel said to be destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, the agency intercepted another 598.08 kilogrammes of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies packed in 890 packets inside a 40-foot container.
The NDLEA said the seizure was linked to three suspects who had earlier been arrested after 842.54 kilogrammes of similar cannabis-laced cookies were seized at the port.
In Adamawa, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.
The agency stated that Mr Frank escaped after his Honda Civic rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle.
Other arrests and seizures were recorded in Lagos, Kogi, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti and Enugu states.
In Lagos, the agency noted that it recovered 2,386.9 kilogrammes of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100 kilogrammes of assorted tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and four kilogrammes of Rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were arrested at Agbara with 720 kilogrammes of cannabis.
In Kogi, Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25, were arrested with 636 kilogrammes of cannabis concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos.
The NDLEA also reported the arrest of 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State with more than 109 kilogrammes of controlled substances.
The drugs included tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
In Kaduna, officers intercepted a truck loaded with cement bags along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179 kilogrammes of skunk.
In Bauchi, Hamza Dahiru, 25, was arrested following the seizure of 322.5 kilogrammes of cannabis at Deba in Gombe State.
NDLEA operatives in Ekiti also uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in the Efon-Alaaye forest, recovering 117 kilogrammes of harvested cannabis. Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested.
In Enugu, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
NDLEA targets international drug networks
The latest operation comes amid a series of NDLEA operations targeting drug trafficking networks with international links.
In June, the agency stated that it dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory allegedly operated by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel in a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
READ ALSO: NDLEA arrests 68 suspected traffickers with hard drugs in Edo
Five alleged members of the network were arrested, including a 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, whom the agency described as a methamphetamine expert brought in to provide technical assistance.
The operation followed the discovery, about four weeks earlier, of another large methamphetamine laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State.
The NDLEA said the two discoveries pointed to an attempt by traffickers to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing base in the South-west.
The agency again raised the alarm this month, saying Mexican-linked criminal networks were attempting to establish industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratories in forests across Ogun and Oyo states.
Mr Babafemi also stated that the agency had dismantled a cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor and intercepted consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine and cannabis on the high seas off Akwa Ibom State.
NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa commended the officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain what he described as the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to drug control.
He warned that traffickers who change their identities or operate behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
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