The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested and repatriated a suspected drug kingpin, Festus Ibewuike, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, more than two years after he allegedly fled Nigeria following the seizure of 49.7 kilogrammes of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Ibewuike, 52, was arrested on September 2, 2026, at an airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, following actionable intelligence and coordinated operations involving the NDLEA and INTERPOL authorities in Nigeria and Benin.
He was handed over to NDLEA operatives deployed to Cotonou on September 4 and subsequently repatriated to Nigeria to face prosecution over his alleged involvement in the trafficking syndicate behind what the agency described as the largest single heroin consignment intercepted at the Lagos airport.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the arrest was the culmination of investigations launched after operatives of the agency’s MMIA Strategic Command intercepted 49.70kg of heroin at the airport’s cargo terminal in February 2024.
Babafemi said the drugs were concealed in cartons containing metal-cutting machines and marked with the code “ND”. Investigations allegedly traced the consignment to Ibewuike, who was said to have operated through members of a wider international trafficking network.
Following the seizure, several members of the syndicate were arrested, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who investigators alleged routinely received drug consignments on his behalf.
The NDLEA also secured orders freezing 107 bank accounts and forfeiting properties allegedly linked to the trafficking network.
The suspects were subsequently charged before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/205C/2024.
Babafemi said Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna and Uzochukwu Frankline had so far been convicted and sentenced, while Chidiebere Peter, Ibewuike Ndidiamaka and Igbokwuputa Onyinye remain on trial.
He added that Ibewuike Festus, Osita Chidozie Cyril and another suspect identified as Arinze were charged in absentia.
The NDLEA said Ibewuike subsequently relocated to Mozambique, where he allegedly operated a hotel business as a cover while moving between Mozambique and Nigeria through neighbouring Benin Republic in an effort to evade law enforcement.
Following his repatriation, the suspect reportedly confirmed his identity during preliminary interviews 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 the heroin parcels bearing the “ND” marking. The agency said the identification further strengthened the evidence linking him to the seized consignment.
Further investigations also allegedly connected Ibewuike to an earlier drug case involving the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine.
The earlier case was prosecuted before the Federal High Court in Lagos under Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari in charge number FHC/L/203C/2013. One Chidi Ihedioha, who was prosecuted in connection with the case, was convicted by the court in 2023.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to track down fleeing drug kingpins.
Marwa warned suspected drug traffickers who flee Nigeria to escape prosecution that international borders would not protect them from justice.
“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.
He added that the operation demonstrated the agency’s determination to pursue suspected traffickers regardless of how long they remain at large or where they relocate.
“This should serve as a fresh warning to fleeing suspects still at large: the Agency will not relent until every one of you is brought to book,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA chairman commended the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL National Central Bureaus for their cooperation, which facilitated the arrest and smooth transfer of the suspect to Nigerian authorities.
The agency said the development underscored its growing capacity for cross-border intelligence and enforcement operations and reaffirmed its determination to pursue suspected drug traffickers beyond Nigeria’s borders and ensure that fugitives are eventually brought before the law.
