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 over his alleged involvement in a 49.70kg heroin seizure at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to a release issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the agency’s director of Medi and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Ibewuike was arrested at an airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, following actionable intelligence.
The NDLEA subsequently worked with INTERPOL authorities in Nigeria and Benin Republic to facilitate his transfer to Nigerian custody.
A team of NDLEA operatives was deployed to Cotonou on Friday, September 4, to take custody of the suspect before he was conveyed to Nigeria to face prosecution over his alleged role in the drug trafficking syndicate.
The arrest ends more than two years of evasion by Ibewuike, who had relocated to Mozambique, where he reportedly operated a hotel business as a cover.
Investigators said he travelled between Mozambique and Nigeria through neighbouring Benin Republic in an effort to avoid arrest.
The suspect was among three persons declared wanted and charged in absentia following a major operation by the NDLEA’s MMIA Strategic Command in February 2024.
During the 12-day operation, operatives intercepted 49.70kg of heroin concealed inside cartons containing metal-cutting machines at the Import Shed of the airport’s cargo terminal.
The seizure was described by the agency as the single largest heroin consignment ever intercepted at the Lagos international airport.
The investigation led to the arrest of several members of the syndicate, including Ibewuike’s wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike.
According to the NDLEA, she routinely received parcels containing drugs on his behalf, with the consignments marked with the code “ND”.
The agency also secured the freezing of 107 bank accounts and the forfeiture of properties allegedly linked to the cartel.
Those prosecuted in the case are standing trial before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/205C/2024.
Three suspects – Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna and Uzochukwu Frankline – have so far been convicted and sentenced by the court.
Three others, Chidiebere Reginald Peter, Ibewuike Ndidiamaka Confidence and Igbokwuputa Onyinye Ireene, remain on trial.
Three additional suspects – Ibewuike Festus, also known as Ibewuike Chidibest; Osita Chidozie Cyril; and a suspect identified as Arinze – were charged in absentia.
Following his return to Nigeria, Ibewuike, 52, confirmed his identity during preliminary interviews and told investigators that he had changed his name from Chidibest Ibewuike to Festus Ibewuike.
On Saturday, September 5, he was taken to the NDLEA’s Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he formally identified parcels of heroin bearing the “ND” code that investigators had linked to him.
Further investigation also connected Ibewuike Festus to an earlier drug case before the Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari.
The case, filed under charge number FHC/L/203C/2013, concerned the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine.
It involved a suspect identified as Chidi Ihedioha, who was subsequently convicted by the court in 2023.
Reacting to the latest development, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described Ibewuike’s arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to apprehend suspected drug kingpins who flee the country.
Marwa said the arrest demonstrated that suspects could not evade prosecution indefinitely by leaving Nigeria or changing their identities.
“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.
The NDLEA chairman also warned other suspects who remain at large that the agency would continue pursuing them regardless of how long they remained outside the country.
He commended the multinational cooperation that facilitated Ibewuike’s arrest and transfer, particularly the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL National Central Bureaus for their roles in ensuring the smooth handover of the suspect.
