NDLEA BUSTS DRUG NETWORK, RECOVERS 2 MILLION-PLUS OPIOID PILLS, 2,145kg CANNABIS

NDLEA BUSTS DRUG NETWORK, RECOVERS 2 MILLION-PLUS OPIOID PILLS, 2,145kg CANNABIS 

By Jennifer Nwosu 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant while coordinating drug shipments to Saudi Arabia, as operatives also intercepted a drug-laden fuel tanker and recovered large consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other illicit substances across nine states.

In a statement released Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said the operations followed intelligence-led investigations by its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) into a 1.2kg cocaine shipment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was intercepted at a Lagos courier company on July 31, 2026.

The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Sept. 4 while posing as a herbal tea businessman. He admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

NDLEA records show Ebubechukwu was first arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, in 2011 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 convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before later changing his name and returning to drug trafficking.

A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, yielded phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.

At the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton shipment from Pakistan. They also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain valued at more than N173 million, hidden in cartons of disposable hand gloves from Singapore.

In Ondo State, officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC after its driver allegedly refused to stop along the Akoko/Lokoja expressway. The driver abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and escaped into the bush. A search revealed a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside legitimate fuel destined for Jos, Plateau State.

At Tincan Port, Lagos, another 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies packed in 890 packets was intercepted in a 40-foot container on Sept. 2. The consignment was linked to Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji, who were arrested a month earlier after 842.54kg of similar cannabis-infused cookies were seized.

In Adamawa, NDLEA recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to fleeing suspect Patrick KC Frank. Frank allegedly rammed his Honda Civic into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before escaping. Methamphetamine supplier Calistus Ebubechukwu, 35, was also arrested in Michika with 2kg of the drug, while Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at Namtari checkpoint in Mubi with 750,027,530 pills of tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

Other operations produced significant seizures. In Lagos, 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grams of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of rohypnol were recovered at Gbaji, while Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel were arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.

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

Taraba operatives arrested 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu along Zaki-Biam Road, Wukari, with more than 109kg of tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin in a Toyota Corolla marked KUJ-333BT travelling from Onitsha to Yola.

In Kaduna, 1,179kg of skunk was recovered from a cement-loaded truck along the Zaria-Kano expressway. In Bauchi, Hamza Dahiru, 25, was arrested following the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba, Gombe State, on Sept. 1.

Ekiti operatives also destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, arresting Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, and recovering 117kg of harvested skunk. In Enugu, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 tramadol capsules.

The NDLEA also continued its' War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, reaching nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre in Abeokuta North, Ogun State, youths in Umouji/Okwo community in Olokoro, Umuahia South, Abia State, and NLNG staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), commended officers of DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.

Marwa urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency's balanced approach to drug control, stressing that traffickers who attempt to evade detection through new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down.