Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have intercepted a 20,000-litre fuel tanker fitted with a concealed compartment containing 2,145kg of cannabis.
The tanker notorious for evading arrest in the past, marked MKA 960 XC, was intercepted along the Akoko-Lokoja Expressway in Ondo State on Friday after the driver refused to stop for NDLEA operatives.
The driver abandoned the vehicle at a church premises in Ugbe Akoko and fled into the bush.
A search of the tanker uncovered 165 bags of cannabis concealed in a false compartment alongside its legitimate fuel cargo, which was reportedly destined for Jos, Plateau State.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 34-year-old man identified as Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu, who the agency described as the mastermind behind some illicit drug shipments.
His arrest followed the interception of 1.2kg of cocaine concealed inside phone chargers at a courier company in Lagos on July 31, 2026. The consignment was allegedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to the NDLEA, officers of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation tracked the suspect through intelligence-led operations before arresting him in a sting operation at Article Market, opposite Trade Fair Market, in the Ojo area of Lagos, on Friday.
The agency said Ebubechukwu, who was posing as a herbal tea businessman, admitted masterminding previous drug shipments.
He told investigators that he discarded his telephone SIM card after learning that the latest cocaine consignment had been intercepted.
Further investigation revealed that Ebubechukwu had previously been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in 2011 after ingesting 900g of cocaine and 130g of heroin while attempting to travel to Austria.
The NDLEA said he was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison under the name Dunu Chukwuyenre Enoch.
The agency alleged that he subsequently changed his name to Dunu Bethel Ebubechukwu before returning to drug trafficking.
A search of his residence at Ejigbo, Lagos, on Friday led to the recovery of phone chargers similar to those used to conceal the intercepted cocaine. Their internal components had been removed to create space for drugs.
At the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives also recovered 966,200 tablets of Tramadol 225mg, valued at more than N1.1bn, according to the agency.
The tablets were concealed among thrift trousers in a 21-carton consignment from Pakistan.
The NDLEA also recovered 57.80kg of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, allegedly hidden inside cartons of disposable hand gloves in a shipment from Singapore.
The consignment had remained unclaimed for weeks before NDLEA operatives, Customs officials and other security agencies conducted a joint examination on Thursday.
At the Tincan Port in Lagos, operatives intercepted another 598.08kg of cannabis-laced cookies and gummies in a 40-foot container on Wednesday.
The seizure was linked to three suspects; Yashim Dauji, Larry Ifeanyi and Joseph Moji, who had earlier been arrested following the seizure of 842.54kg of cannabis-infused cookies at the port.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA operatives recovered 864,000 opioid pills, mainly tramadol, from a residence linked to a fleeing suspect identified as Patrick KC Frank.
The agency said Frank’s Honda Civic rammed an NDLEA patrol vehicle before he escaped.
In Michika, a suspected major methamphetamine supplier identified as 35-year-old Calistus Ebubechukwu was arrested with 2kg of the substance.
Another suspect, Attahiru Hussaini, was intercepted at the Namtari checkpoint in Mubi with tramadol and other opioids concealed in a soap-laden Ford Galaxy bus.
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 in Agbara with 720kg of cannabis.
In Kogi State, three suspects, Saidu Mustapha, 35; Zaharadeen Salisu, 29; and AbdulSalam Abdullahi, 25, were arrested with 636kg of cannabis allegedly concealed in chicken manure inside 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 in Wukari Local Government Area with more than 109kg of various controlled substances, including tramadol, diazepam, pentazocine, phenobarbital, nitrazepam, bromazepam and pregabalin.
The drugs were being conveyed in his Toyota Corolla from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola, Adamawa State.
In Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a truck loaded with bags of cement along the Zaria-Kano Expressway and recovered 1,179kg of cannabis, while a 25-year-old suspect, Hamza Dahiru, was arrested in Bauchi following a follow-up operation linked to the seizure of 322.5kg of cannabis in Deba, Gombe State.
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 cannabis.
In Enugu State, a 20-year-old suspect, Obinna David, was arrested at Ugbema Junction with 40,590 capsules of tramadol.
The NDLEA said its commands and formations also continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the personnel for what he described as professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged officers across the country to sustain the agency’s current approach to drug control.