Convicted Cocaine Trafficker Caught Posing As Herbal Tea Seller As NDLEA Sweeps Nine States
By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who had disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman, in a sweeping series of operations that spanned nine states across the country. The suspect, 34 year old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested at Article Market in Ojo, Lagos, following an intelligence led operation that traced him after the interception of 1.2 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in phone chargers destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport after ingesting cocaine and heroin under a different name, and was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before changing his identity and returning to trafficking. Alongside the arrest, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000 litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment for drugs in Ondo State, recovering 165 bags of cannabis weighing over 2,145 kilogrammes after the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush. At the Lagos airport, the agency recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol valued at more than ₦1.1 billion hidden among second hand trousers, while at Tincan Port, 598.08 kilogrammes of cannabis infused cookies and gummies were seized in a 40 foot container. Further operations across Adamawa, Kogi, Taraba, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti and Enugu states led to the recovery of large quantities of tramadol, methamphetamine, cannabis and other controlled substances, along with the destruction of a four hectare cannabis farm in Ekiti State. The coordinated sweep underscores the scale of ongoing efforts by Nigerian authorities to disrupt drug trafficking networks operating across the country’s land, sea and air routes.
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