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

In a statement on Sunday, the agency said the arrest occurred weeks after it intercepted a 1.2kg cocaine consignment concealed in phone chargers and destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at a courier company in Lagos on 31st July 2026.

“The suspect, arrested in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday, 4th September 2026, while posing as a herbal tea businessman, was identified as 34-year-old Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu.

“In his statement, he admitted being the mastermind of some illicit drug shipments in the past while stating that he discarded his telephone SIM card once he learnt his latest consignment had been intercepted by the NDLEA,” the agency stated.

According to the NDLEA, 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 900 grams of cocaine and 130 grams of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.

The agency disclosed that the suspect was prosecuted for the crime, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail, adding that 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, 4th September 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,” the NDLEA noted.

The NDLEA also said that, in another development, it chased down a 20,000-litre fuel tanker marked MKA 960 XC, notorious for evading arrest in the past, in Ondo on Friday after its driver refused to stop.

“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,” it added.