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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested and repatriated Festus Ibewuike, a fugitive linked to the seizure of 49.7kg of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in 2024.
The development was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Ibewuike, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, had been on the run for more than two years after allegedly fleeing Nigeria and relocating to Mozambique.
The arrest follows investigations into the drug trafficking syndicate linked to the heroin consignment and comes amid intensified NDLEA operations targeting international drug networks across airports, ports and courier facilities.
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What NDLEA is saying
The NDLEA said Ibewuike was one of three suspects declared wanted and charged in absentia after its operatives intercepted the 49.7kg heroin consignment concealed in cartons of metal-cutting machines at the MMIA cargo terminal in February 2024.
- “The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully secured the arrest and repatriation of Festus Ibewuike, alias Chidibest Ibewuike, a fugitive drug kingpin who had evaded arrest for over two years following the interception of the single largest heroin consignment ever recorded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos,” the statement read in part.
The operation also led to the arrest of key members of the alleged trafficking syndicate, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who the agency said received drug-laden parcels on his behalf.
The NDLEA said 107 bank accounts linked to the cartel were frozen, while properties connected to the syndicate were forfeited. Three suspects have been convicted and sentenced, while three others remain on trial and three, including Ibewuike, were charged in absentia.
Arrest and repatriation
The agency said actionable intelligence led to Ibewuike’s arrest at the airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on September 2, 2026. The NDLEA worked with INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus in Nigeria and Benin Republic to facilitate his handover to NDLEA operatives who travelled to Cotonou on September 4.
He was subsequently brought to Nigeria to answer for his alleged role in the trafficking syndicate.
- During preliminary interviews, the 52-year-old suspect reportedly confirmed that he had changed his name from Chidibest Ibewuike to Festus Ibewuike. The agency said he was taken to its Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, Lagos, on September 5, where he identified heroin parcels bearing the code “ND” that were linked to him.
- The NDLEA also said further investigation linked Ibewuike to an earlier drug-related case involving the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine. The case, filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos in 2013, involved Chidi Ihedioha, who was convicted in 2023.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa described the arrest as a major breakthrough and warned suspects still at large that the agency would continue efforts to bring them to justice. He also commended the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL offices for facilitating Ibewuike’s repatriation.
Get up to speed
The arrest comes amid a series of major drug interceptions by the NDLEA at the MMIA and other locations across the country. The agency has recently reported several large seizures involving controlled substances and suspected international trafficking networks.
- The NDLEA recently seized 47,200 captagon pills, popularly known as the “Jihadi drug”, valued at more than N1.5 billion, alongside about 3.9 million tablets of Tramaking 225mg and Tapentadol 250mg worth more than N4.6 billion at the Lagos airport.
- The captagon seizure followed the arrest of a 49-year-old suspected cross-border drug trafficking kingpin who arrived in Lagos from Accra, Ghana.
- The agency also uncovered a concealed compartment designed to hide illicit drugs in a 20,000-litre fuel tanker and arrested a previously convicted cocaine trafficker during operations across several states.
Its Directorate of Operations and General Investigation also tracked the alleged mastermind of a 1.2kg cocaine shipment intercepted at a Lagos courier company on July 31 and reportedly destined for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What you should know
The NDLEA has intensified operations targeting illicit drug networks through airports, ports, courier facilities and other entry points.
Recent operations have also resulted in the seizure of large quantities of opioids, cocaine and cannabis.
- In July, the agency intercepted a combined consignment of cocaine, cannabis and opioid drugs estimated at about N10 billion across Lagos ports, courier facilities and other locations within one week.
- In April, it raided three suspected illicit drug warehouses in Lagos and recovered opioid consignments valued at about N16.9 billion.
- Outside Lagos, the NDLEA secured an interim forfeiture order in April covering opioid drugs valued at about N33.6 billion intercepted in 17 containers at the Onne Port in Rivers State.
The consignments included millions of tablets of Tramadol, Tafrodol, Tapentadol and Carisoprodol, as well as bottles of codeine syrup.
