ABUJA — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a repeat cocaine trafficker operating under a new identity and intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker with a concealed drug compartment during coordinated operations across the country. On September 4, 2026, DOGI operatives arrested 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu at Article Market, Ojo, Lagos, while posing as a herbal tea merchant. This followed the seizure of 1.2kg of cocaine hidden in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh on July 31. Records show he was first arrested in 2011 at MMIA for ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin as Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch, was convicted and jailed for five years, then changed his name and resumed trafficking. A search of his Ejigbo home also recovered modified phone chargers used to hide drugs.
In other major interceptions, NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport on September 3 recovered 966,200 Tramadol 225mg tablets worth over N1.1 billion concealed in thrift trousers from Pakistan, and 57.80kg of “Loud” cannabis worth over N173 million hidden in glove cartons from Singapore. In Ondo, operatives chased a 20,000-litre tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko/Lokoja expressway after the driver fled. A search revealed 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg hidden in a false compartment. At Tincan Port, 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies were seized on September 2, linked to three suspects earlier arrested over 842.54kg of similar products.
Across Adamawa, Kogi, Kaduna, Bauchi, Ekiti, Taraba, Lagos and Enugu, further seizures included 864,000 opioid pills in Yola, 2kg of methamphetamine in Michika, and 750,027,530 tramadol pills in Mubi. In Lagos, 2,386.9kg of cannabis and assorted drugs were recovered at Gbaji, with 720kg seized in Agbara. Kogi operatives intercepted 636kg of cannabis hidden in chicken manure, while Taraba and Kaduna operations yielded over 109kg of assorted psychotropics and 1,179kg of skunk respectively. In Ekiti, a 4-hectare cannabis farm was destroyed. NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the commands for intelligence-driven operations and warned that traffickers using new identities or legitimate business fronts will be tracked down. He said WADA sensitization also continued in schools, health centres and workplaces nationwide.
