NDLEA arrests herbal tea businessman over alleged Saudi-bound cocaine shipment
NDLEA arrests herbal tea businessman over alleged Saudi-bound cocaine shipment
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old convicted cocaine trafficker, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, who allegedly masterminded cocaine shipments to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while operating under the cover of a herbal tea business.
The NDLEA disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Sunday, highlighting its nationwide operations in the last one week.
According to the statement, the suspect was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, Sept. 4, following intelligence-led investigations into a 1.2kg cocaine consignment intercepted in Lagos on July 31.
The cocaine, concealed inside phone chargers, was destined for Riyadh.
NDLEA said Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
“He was prosecuted for the crime, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail.
He thereafter changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade,” the agency said.
“A search of his residence located at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday, Sept. 4, led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs,” it added.
According to the agency, the arrest formed part of a coordinated NDLEA crackdown across nine states, during which operatives intercepted large consignments of cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other illicit substances.
“At the Lagos airport, operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg worth over N1.1 billion concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
“Also recovered was 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, worth over N173 million in street value, hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore,” it stated.
In Ondo, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg.
Other seizures included 864,000 pills of opioids in Adamawa, 2kg of methamphetamine, 636kg of cannabis in Kogi and more than 109kg of assorted controlled drugs in Taraba.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the officers involved in the operations for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
He urged them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the agency’s “balanced approach” to drug control efforts.
“Traffickers who believe they can reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down,” Marwa warned.
He urged them to sustain the current momentum in the fight against illicit drugs.
