NDLEA Arrests Fugitive Kingpin Linked To 49.7kg Heroin Shipment

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has arrested Festus Ibewuike, a suspected drug kingpin linked to a 49.70kg heroin shipment intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos in 2024.

Ibewuike, 52, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, was arrested at the airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on September 2 and handed over to Nigerian anti-narcotics officials two days later with help from INTERPOL officers in Nigeria and Benin Republic.

The agency said he had been on the run for more than two years after the heroin was found in cartons of metal-cutting machines at the airport’s cargo terminal. NDLEA said he later moved to Mozambique, where he allegedly ran a hotel business as a front.

According to the reports, the 2024 operation also led to charges against two other suspects. Ibewuike was returned to Lagos to face the case after NDLEA operatives travelled to Cotonou following the arrest.

NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the agency linked the shipment to its MMIA Strategic Command investigation. The reports did not say that Ibewuike had been convicted.

Sources: Punch, Premium Times, Daily Post