Herbal Tea Merchant Arrested Over Cocaine Shipments to Saudi Arabia

By Zainab Uzomah| Abuja

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 34-year-old convicted cocaine trafficker accused of masterminding illicit drug shipments to Saudi Arabia, while intercepting more than two million opioid pills and large consignments of cannabis, methamphetamine and other drugs in coordinated operations across nine states.

According to a statement signed by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4, 2026, after operatives traced him to a 1.2-kilogramme cocaine shipment intercepted in phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31 and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

NDLEA said Ebubechukwu had disguised himself as a herbal tea businessman. He reportedly admitted masterminding previous drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

Investigations revealed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after ingesting 900 grammes of cocaine and 130 grammes of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before later changing his name and allegedly returning to drug trafficking.

A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, also uncovered phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine, with their internal components removed to create space for drugs.

In another major operation, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State after the driver allegedly refused to stop. The driver later abandoned the tanker at a church premises in Ugbe-Akoko and fled.

A search of the tanker uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145 kilogrammes, hidden alongside legitimate fuel destined for Jos, Plateau State.

At the Lagos airport, NDLEA recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than 1.1 billion naira, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.

The agency also seized 57.8 kilogrammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, hidden in cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore. At the Tincan Port, Lagos, NDLEA intercepted another 598.08 kilogrammes, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container. The consignment was linked to three suspects previously arrested over the seizure of 842.54 kilogrammes of similar drug-laced confectionery.

In Adamawa State, operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank. The suspect allegedly rammed his Honda Civic into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before escaping.Another suspect, Calistus Ebubechukwu, 35, was arrested in Michika with two kilogrammes of methamphetamine, while Attahiru Hussaini was intercepted with tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus.

The NDLEA also reported major cannabis seizures in Lagos, Kogi, Kaduna, Ekiti and other states, including 2,386.9 kilogrammes of cannabis recovered in Gbaji, Lagos, and 636 kilogrammes concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Ondo State to Jos through Kogi State. In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested with more than 109 kilogrammes of assorted controlled medicines, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital and pregabalin.

Meanwhile, a truck loaded with cement was intercepted along the Zaria-Kano Expressway in Kaduna State, leading to the recovery of 1,179 kilogrammes of skunk. The agency also destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest, Ekiti State, recovering 117 kilogrammes of already-harvested cannabis and arresting two suspects.

In Enugu, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested with 40,590 capsules of tramadol at Ugbema Junction.

Marwa commended the officers involved in the operations and urged personnel across the country to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to drug control. He warned that drug traffickers who attempt to evade detection by adopting new identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.