NDLEA Nabs Convicted C0caine Tr@fficker Posing as Herbal Tea Merchant in Lagos

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant to evade detection.

According to a statement issued by the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, the arrest followed the interception of a 1.2-kilogramme consignment of cocaine concealed in phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31. The consignment was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Babafemi said operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) subsequently launched a painstaking, intelligence-led operation that tracked down the mastermind behind the shipment.

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.

In his confessional statement, the suspect admitted to having masterminded several illicit drug shipments in the past. He also disclosed that he discarded his telephone SIM card upon learning that his latest consignment had been intercepted by the NDLEA.

Babafemi added that further investigation revealed the suspect is no stranger to the Agency.

‘’He was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos after ingesting 900grams of cocaine and 130grams of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch. 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.

A search of his residence located at 6 Yemishola Street, Ejigbo, Lagos on Friday, September 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” he said

The statement further mentioned that a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC, and notorious for evading arrest in the past, was chased down by NDLEA officers along the Akoko/Lokoja expressway in Ondo state on Friday, September 4, after its driver refused to stop. Babafemi said 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.