NDLEA arrests alleged cocaine trafficker behind Saudi shipments

By Kingsley Omonobi

LAGOS — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a suspected cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding drug shipments to Saudi Arabia, while intercepting a fuel tanker carrying more than two tonnes of cannabis and recovering millions of opioid pills in coordinated operations across several states.

The agency said on Sunday that its operatives arrested 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman, following intelligence-led investigations into a cocaine shipment intercepted in Lagos.

According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) tracked the suspect after a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.

Babafemi said Ebubechukwu was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday.

He said the suspect admitted masterminding previous illicit drug shipments and disclosed that he discarded his SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

Further investigation, according to the agency, showed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after allegedly 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.

NDLEA said the suspect subsequently changed his name before allegedly returning to drug trafficking.

A search of his residence at Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.

Fuel tanker conceals 2.1 tonnes of cannabis

In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly fitted with a concealed compartment for illicit drugs.

The agency said the tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted 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, according to the agency.

A search of the vehicle uncovered 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg concealed alongside its legitimate fuel cargo, which was reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.

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

The agency also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, with an estimated street value of more than N173 million. The substance was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks.

NDLEA said the drugs were recovered during a joint examination involving its officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies on Thursday.

At the Tincan Port in Lagos, the agency said another 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies, was intercepted in a 40-foot container on Wednesday.

The seizure followed the arrest of three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — over the earlier seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies, the agency said.

More seizures across states

In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, particularly Tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, in the Damilu and Jambutu areas of Jimeta, Yola North Local Government Area.

The agency said Frank escaped after his Honda Civic rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle.

In Michika, Adamawa State, operatives arrested 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described by the agency as a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis. He was allegedly found with 2kg of methamphetamine.

Also in Adamawa, Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi with 750,027 tablets of Tramadol and other opioids allegedly concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

In Lagos, operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted Tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.

Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested with 720kg of cannabis in the Agbara area.

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 aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.

In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along the Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted pharmaceutical drugs, 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 State, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after 322.5kg of cannabis was seized at Deba town, Gombe State, on September 1.

In Ekiti State, two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after NDLEA operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in the Efon-Alaaye forest.

The operation also led to the recovery of 117kg of already-harvested cannabis.

In Enugu State, 20-year-old Obinna David was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of Tramadol on Saturday.

The NDLEA said its commands and formations also continued with its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers and men of the DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu commands for what he described as professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.

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