The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Sunday it arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman and masterminded drug shipments to Saudi Arabia.
The suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested Friday in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in Lagos.
The NDLEA said its investigation began after officers intercepted 1.2 kilograms of cocaine hidden in phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on 31st July.
The drugs were headed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some drug shipments and said he threw away his SIM card after learning that the cocaine had been seized.
The NDLEA said he was first arrested in 2011 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after allegedly swallowing 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin while trying to travel to Austria.
He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, the agency said.
A search of his home in Ejigbo, Lagos, also uncovered phone chargers similar to those used to hide the intercepted cocaine.
In another operation, officers seized 966,200 tramadol tablets worth more than 1.1 billion naira at the Lagos airport.
The agency also reported the seizure of 2,145 kilograms of cannabis hidden inside a fuel tanker in Ondo state.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa praised officers involved in the operations and said traffickers who “reinvent themselves under new identities or legitimate business fronts will continue to be tracked down.”
The agency said the operations covered nine states and produced major seizures of cocaine, cannabis, tramadol, methamphetamine and other drugs.
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