The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has repatriated a suspected drug kingpin, Festus Ibewuike, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, who had been on the run for more than two years following the seizure of 49.70kg of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to an official statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Ibewuike was one of three suspects declared wanted and charged in absentia after operatives of the agency’s MMIA Strategic Command intercepted the heroin consignment in February 2024.
The 49.70kg consignment, described by the agency as the single largest heroin shipment ever intercepted at the Lagos airport, was concealed in cartons of metal-cutting machines at the airport’s Import Shed.
The operation led to the arrest of key members of the trafficking syndicate, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who allegedly received drug-laden parcels marked with the code “ND” on his behalf.
The investigation also resulted in the freezing of 107 bank accounts and forfeiture of properties allegedly linked to the syndicate.
Several suspects connected to the case were subsequently prosecuted before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/205C/2024.
Three of the suspects — Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna and Uzochukwu Frankline — have been convicted and sentenced, while Chidiebere Reginald Peter, Ibewuike Ndidiamaka Confidence and Igbokwuputa Onyinye Ireene remain on trial.
Ibewuike, alongside Osita Chidozie Cyril and another suspect identified as Arinze, had been charged in absentia after fleeing the country.
The NDLEA said Ibewuike relocated to Mozambique, where he operated a hotel business as a front, while shuttling between Mozambique and Nigeria through neighbouring Benin Republic in an effort to evade arrest.
His years on the run ended on September 2, 2026, when actionable intelligence led to his arrest at an airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The agency said its operatives worked with INTERPOL authorities in Nigeria and Benin Republic to facilitate his handover. A team of NDLEA operatives was subsequently deployed to Cotonou on September 4 to take custody of the suspect and return him to Nigeria.
During preliminary interviews, the 52-year-old suspect confirmed his identity and disclosed that he had changed his name from Chidibest Ibewuike to Festus Ibewuike.
On September 5, he was taken to the NDLEA Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he formally identified parcels of heroin bearing the “ND” code, which the agency said were linked to him.
Further investigation also revealed that Ibewuike had previously been associated with another drug-related case before the Federal High Court in Lagos involving the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine.
The case, filed under charge number FHC/L/203C/2013 and presided over by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, involved one Chidi Ihedioha, who was subsequently convicted by the court in 2023.
Reacting to the development, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described Ibewuike’s arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to track down fleeing drug kingpins.
Marwa vowed that the agency would continue to pursue suspects who flee the country to evade prosecution.
“This arrest is a major breakthrough in our resolve to track down and bring to justice every drug baron who thinks that fleeing Nigeria’s shores puts them beyond the reach of the law,” he said.
“As I have always vowed, the long arm of the NDLEA will catch up with anyone involved in this illicit trade, no matter how long it takes or how far they run.”
He warned other fleeing suspects that the agency would not relent until they were brought to book, stressing that Ibewuike’s arrest after more than two years in hiding should serve as a warning to others still at large.
The NDLEA chairman also commended the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL National Central Bureaus for their cooperation, which he said was instrumental to the successful transfer of custody and repatriation of the suspect.
