The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman while masterminding illicit drug shipments, including a 1.2kg cocaine consignment destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The arrest was part of a coordinated crackdown across nine states that also led to the interception of a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for cannabis and the seizure of more than two million opioid pills, cannabis, methamphetamine and other psychotropic substances.

The NDLEA said its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) tracked the suspect after the cocaine consignment, concealed in phone chargers, was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026.

The suspect, 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, September 4, while allegedly posing as a herbal tea businessman.

According to the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past. He also reportedly discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.

NDLEA investigations revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.

He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The agency said he subsequently changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to drug trafficking.

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

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

The operatives also seized 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173m in street value. The substance was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives pursued a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway on Friday after its driver allegedly refused to stop.

The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush. A search of the vehicle uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.

At the Tin Can Port in Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, September 2, intercepted 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container.

The agency said the seizure was linked to Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji, who were arrested about a month earlier following the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.

In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, in the Damilu/Jambutu axis of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.

Frank allegedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle with his Honda Civic before escaping.

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

The agency also said Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with tramadol and other opioids allegedly concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 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 at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.

In Kogi State, Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25, were arrested with 636kg of cannabis allegedly concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.

In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.

The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla, 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, 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.

In Ekiti State, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after 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 on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.

Meanwhile, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.

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

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers and men of the agency’s DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tin Can, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.

Marwa urged personnel to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control, stressing that traffickers who attempt to evade detection by adopting new identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.