The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old herbal tea businessman, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, for allegedly masterminding cocaine shipments from Lagos to Saudi Arabia.
The suspect was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4, 2026, following an intelligence-led investigation into a 1.2kg cocaine consignment intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
The cocaine, according to the NDLEA, was concealed inside phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The agency said investigation revealed that Ebubechukwu 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 subsequently prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
The NDLEA said he later changed his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and allegedly returned to the illicit drug trade, disguising his activities as a herbal tea business.
A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, 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.
The arrest was part of a nationwide crackdown by the NDLEA that also led to the seizure of large consignments of tramadol, cannabis, methamphetamine, codeine and other psychotropic substances across Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.
Commenting on the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers for their professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa warned that drug traffickers who attempt to reinvent themselves under new identities or hide behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down by the agency.
