Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who disguised as a herbal tea merchant while running an international drug syndicate.
The suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested on Friday, September 4, 2026, in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo area of Lagos, while posing as a herbal tea businessman, according to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday.
According to Babafemi, the breakthrough followed the interception of a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026.
Operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, then launched an intelligence-led operation to track the mastermind.
In his statement, Ebubechukwu admitted to being behind several illicit drug shipments in the past. He said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted by the NDLEA.
Further investigation revealed that Ebubechukwu is not new to drug trafficking.
He was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, after ingesting 900grams of cocaine and 130grams of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
He was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to five years in jail. After serving his term, he changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the trade.
A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on September 4 also 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 the drugs.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced drug control strategy, adding that traffickers who attempt to reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts “will continue to be tracked down.”
