NDLEA Arrests Fugitive Kingpin Linked to 49.7kg Heroin Shipment
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested and repatriated Festus Ibewuike, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, a suspected drug kingpin who had been on the run for more than two years following the seizure of 49.70 kilograms of heroin at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The agency said on Wednesday that Ibewuike was among three suspects declared wanted and charged in absentia after the February 2024 interception, which it described as the largest heroin consignment recorded at the airport. The drugs were concealed inside cartons of metal-cutting machines at the cargo terminal. The operation led to several arrests, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who the NDLEA said received drug-laden parcels marked with the code “ND” on behalf of her husband. The agency also said 107 bank accounts were frozen and properties allegedly linked to the syndicate were forfeited. According to the NDLEA, three suspects have been convicted and sentenced, while others remain on trial, with Ibewuike and two others having been charged in absentia.
The NDLEA said Ibewuike allegedly moved between Mozambique and Nigeria through neighbouring Benin Republic while evading arrest, until actionable intelligence led to his arrest at the airport in Cotonou on September 2, 2026. Working with INTERPOL in Nigeria and Benin Republic, NDLEA operatives travelled to Cotonou on September 4 to take custody of the 52-year-old suspect and return him to Nigeria. During preliminary questioning, the agency said he 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 the agency said he identified heroin parcels bearing the “ND” code. Further investigation also linked him to an earlier drug case involving the seizure of 40.255 kilograms of methamphetamine, in which a suspect identified as Chidi Ihedioha was convicted in 2023. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described Ibewuike’s arrest as a major breakthrough and commended the cooperation between the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL National Central Bureaus. He warned that suspects who flee Nigeria to evade prosecution would continue to be pursued and brought before the law.
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