NDLEA arrests NDLEA arrests ex-convict ‘behind cocaine shipments’ to Saudi Arabia in Lagos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as an herbal tea businessman to continue his illicit trade.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday that operatives intercepted a 1.2kg consignment of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.
According to Babafemi, 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.
He said Ebubechukwu was posing as an herbal tea businessman when he was arrested.
“In his statement, he admitted being the mastermind of some illicit drug shipments in the past while stating that he discarded his telephone SIM card once he learnt his latest consignment had been intercepted by the NDLEA,” the statement reads.
The NDLEA spokesperson said further investigation showed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested for drug trafficking.
He added that the suspect was arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin in an attempt to travel to Austria.
He was arrested under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch, prosecuted and convicted before being sentenced to five years in prison.
Babademi said the suspect subsequently changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to drug trafficking.
According to him, a search of his residence at Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday also led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine.
According to the agency, the internal components of the chargers had been removed to create space for drugs.
TRAMADOL, CANNABIS SEIZED AT LAGOS AIRPORT
Babafemi said NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport also recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg worth more than N1.1 billion.
He said the drugs were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
According to him, the agency also recovered 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a street value of more than N173 million.
He said the substance was hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore that had remained unclaimed for weeks.
Babafemi said the seizure was made during a joint examination by NDLEA officers, customs officials and other security agencies on Thursday, September 3.
In Ondo, he said NDLEA operatives intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker allegedly used to conceal cannabis.
Babafemi said the tanker, marked MKA 960 XC, was chased along the Akoko-Lokoja expressway on Friday, September 4, after its driver refused to stop.
“The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush,” he said.
“A search of the tanker revealed a false compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg, alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau state.”
