By Saminu Ibrahim
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant, while intercepting a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment containing 2,145kg of cannabis.
The arrests and seizures were part of coordinated operations conducted across Lagos, Adamawa, Ondo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu states.
The NDLEA said its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) tracked the suspected mastermind following the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos on Friday, September 4, while posing as a herbal tea businessman.
According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some illicit drug shipments in the past and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation revealed that he had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was 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 returned to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, 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 drugs.
At the Lagos airport, 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 seized 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis valued at more than N173 million, concealed inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The consignment had reportedly remained unclaimed for weeks before a joint examination by NDLEA, Customs and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
In Ondo State, NDLEA officers on Friday, September 4, intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja Expressway after the driver refused to stop.
The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, operatives also intercepted 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies concealed in a 40-foot container on Wednesday, September 2.
The consignment was linked to three suspects already in custody over the earlier seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-infused cookies at the port.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, particularly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank, whose Honda Civic reportedly rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
Another suspect, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described by the agency as a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, was arrested in Michika with 2kg of methamphetamine.
Also in Adamawa, Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350 grammes of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.
Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
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, along the Okene/Lokoja highway.
In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of assorted controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
The drugs were allegedly being conveyed 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 a follow-up operation in Bauchi State, operatives arrested 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town in Gombe State on Tuesday, 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 Efon-Alaaye forest.
The operation also led to the recovery of 117kg of already harvested skunk.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction on Saturday, September 5, with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA said its commands and formations across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The activities included enlightenment lectures for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre, Abeokuta North, Ogun State; youths of Umouji/Okwo community in Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State; and NLNG staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo, NLNG terminal in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Commending officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, Ondo, Tincan, Lagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu Commands, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their professionalism and intelligence-led approach.
Marwa urged NDLEA personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug control.
He warned that drug traffickers who attempt to evade law enforcement by assuming new identities or hiding behind legitimate businesses would continue to be tracked down.
