Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-convict said to be the mastermind of a deal that would have seen 1.2kg of cocaine concealed in phone chargers exported to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Publicity, the
suspect, Dunu Ebubechukwu, was arrested at Trade Fair Market, Ojo area of Lagos on Friday while posing as a herbal tea businessman.
In his statement, Ebubechukwu allegedly 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.
Babafemi said Ebubechukwu was first arrested by the NDLEA in 2011 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after ingesting 900grams of cocaine and 130grams of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
He was subsequently prosecuted for the crime, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail.
According to the NDLEA, Ebubechukwu changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu and returned to the criminal trade.
“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 900grams of cocaine and 130grams of heroin in an attempt to fly to Austria under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
“He was prosecuted for the crime, convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. 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,” Babafemi said
