In a series of coordinated nationwide operations, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) apprehended a convicted cocaine trafficker operating under the guise of a herbal tea merchant.
The 34-year-old suspect, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4, while posing as a herbal tea businessman.
According to the agency, the arrest followed the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a Lagos courier company on July 31.
Following the seizure, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) tracked the mastermind through intelligence-led operations until his arrest.
During interrogation, Ebubechukwu admitted to masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past and disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria, under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before changing his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returning to the illicit drug trade.
A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4, also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
In another interdiction at the Lagos airport, operatives of the NDLEA recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment imported from Pakistan.
A total of 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million, hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore, was also recovered.
The consignment had remained unclaimed for weeks before NDLEA officers, Customs and other security agencies conducted a joint examination on Thursday, September 3.
In what emerged as one of the week’s boldest drug-smuggling attempts, NDLEA officers on Friday, September 4, chased a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja expressway in Ondo State after its driver refused to stop.
The tanker, which was notorious for evading arrest in the past, was eventually abandoned by the driver at church premises in Ugbe Akoko as he fled into the bush.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a false compartment concealing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, operatives intercepted another 598.08kg, contained in 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies concealed in a 40-foot container on September 2.
The seizure came barely a month after three suspects, Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji, were arrested at the port over the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.
Elsewhere in Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Damilu and Jambutu axis in Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area, on Friday, September 4, recovered 864,000 pills of opioids, particularly tramadol.
The drugs were recovered from a residence linked to fleeing suspect Patrick KC Frank, whose Honda Civic allegedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In another operation in the Michika area of the state, a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, was arrested the same day with 2kg of methamphetamine.
Also in Adamawa, Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on Monday, August 31, with 750,027,530 pills of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.
In a further crackdown in Lagos State, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grams of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of rohypnol at Gbaji on Friday, September 4.
Two other suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
In a follow-up operation 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.
The suspects were travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State, along the Okene/Lokoja highway when they were intercepted.
Acting on credible intelligence in Taraba State, NDLEA operatives arrested 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted controlled medicines.
The consignment included tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin, allegedly being transported 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 concealed in the vehicle.
In Bauchi, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town in Gombe State on September 1.
Ekiti State also recorded the discovery and destruction of a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest.
Two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested, while 117kg of already-harvested skunk was recovered.
In Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Maintaining the momentum, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the past week.
The activities included WADA 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 of Abia State; and NLNG staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Other sensitisation activities were also conducted in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities as part of the Agency’s continued efforts to prevent drug abuse.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged them and their colleagues across the country to sustain the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts.
He cautioned that drug traffickers seeking to evade detection by assuming new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would still be traced and brought to justice.
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