As agency intercepts drug-laden tanker, seizes over 1.8m opioid pills

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a convicted cocaine trafficker who allegedly disguised himself as a herbal tea merchant and intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment containing 2,145kg of cannabis.

The operations, conducted across nine states, also led to the seizure of large consignments of tramadol, methamphetamine, cannabis and other psychotropic substances, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.

The suspect, 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, was arrested during a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo, Lagos, on Friday, September 4.

The arrest followed the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on July 31.

The NDLEA said its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) subsequently tracked the alleged mastermind through intelligence-led operations.

According to the agency, Ebubechukwu admitted masterminding some illicit drug shipments and said he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest consignment had been intercepted.

The NDLEA said he was first arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after allegedly ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.

He was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison before subsequently changing his name from Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, the agency said.

A search of his residence in Ejigbo, Lagos, led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those allegedly used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. Their internal components had been removed to create space for drugs.

At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1 billion, concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.

They also recovered 57.8kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, valued at more than N173 million, hidden in cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.

In Ondo State, NDLEA officers intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC along the Akoko-Lokoja expressway on Friday after its driver allegedly refused to stop.

The driver abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.

A search of the tanker uncovered a concealed compartment containing 165 bags of cannabis weighing 2,145kg. The tanker was also carrying legitimate fuel reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.

At the Tin Can Port in Lagos, the agency intercepted 598.08kg, comprising 890 packets, of cannabis-infused cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container on Wednesday.

The consignment was allegedly linked to three suspects — Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji — who were arrested about a month earlier after the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-laced cookies.

In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect, Patrick KC Frank.

The agency said Frank’s Honda Civic rammed into an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.

In Michika, 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu, described by the agency as a major methamphetamine supplier from Lagos to the Mubi and Michika axis, was arrested with 2kg of methamphetamine.

Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at Namtari checkpoint in Mubi on August 31 with tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus marked JJM-953XD.

In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered 2,386.9kg of cannabis, 350g of cocaine, more than 100kg of assorted grades of tramadol, 9.7 litres of codeine syrup and 4kg of Rohypnol at Gbaji.

Two suspects, Damilare Francis and Emeh Emmanuel, were also arrested at Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.

In Kogi State, Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25, were arrested with 636kg of cannabis allegedly concealed in chicken manure aboard a bus travelling from Owo, Ondo State, to Jos, Plateau State.

In Taraba State, 58-year-old Kelechi Unachukwu was arrested along Zaki-Biam Road, Wukari Local Government Area, with more than 109kg of tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, Exol-5, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.

The drugs were allegedly being transported in his Toyota Corolla, marked KUJ-333BT, from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.

In Kaduna State, operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano expressway and recovered 1,179kg of skunk.

In Bauchi State, 25-year-old Hamza Dahiru was arrested in a follow-up operation after the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis at Deba town, Gombe State, on September 1.

In Ekiti State, two suspects, Chuks Alex, 50, and Asafa Adekunle, 35, were arrested after NDLEA operatives uncovered and destroyed a four-hectare cannabis farm in Efon-Alaaye forest.

The operation also led to the recovery of 117kg of already harvested skunk.

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

Meanwhile, the agency said its commands and formations continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.

The activities included enlightenment lectures for nursing mothers and nurses at Ibereko Primary Health Centre, Abeokuta North, Ogun State; youths of Umouji/Okwo community in Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area, Abia State; and staff and concessionaires at the Saipem-Daewoo NLNG terminal in Bonny, Rivers State.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to drug control.

Marwa said traffickers who attempted to evade law enforcement by adopting new identities or operating under legitimate business fronts would continue to be tracked down.