The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly returned to drug trafficking after serving a five-year prison sentence.
The suspect, identified as Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market in Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4, while allegedly posing as a herbal tea merchant.
The arrest followed the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers and bound for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a Lagos courier company on July 31.
According to the NDLEA, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The agency said he was first arrested in 2011 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting 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 allegedly returned to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, reportedly uncovered phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
In a separate operation in Ondo State, NDLEA operatives also seized 2,145kg of cannabis concealed inside a 20,000-litre fuel tanker.
The agency said the tanker driver refused to stop when pursued and later abandoned the vehicle at a church in Ugbe Akoko before fleeing into the bush.
“The driver later abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush. A search of the tanker revealed a false compartment concealing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg alongside its legitimate fuel cargo destined for Jos, Plateau State,” the NDLEA stated.
