By Oluwalemi Kindness
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman while coordinating drug shipments to Saudi Arabia.
The suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday says the arrest followed an intelligence-led investigation into a 1.2kg cocaine shipment intercepted at a Lagos courier company on July 31.
The cocaine was concealed inside phone chargers and was destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.
The NDLEA said the suspect was first arrested in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after allegedly ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
“He thereafter changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade,” Babafemi said.
A search of his Ejigbo residence also recovered phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the Saudi-bound cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.
The arrest was part of a wider NDLEA crackdown across nine states.
