One of the most wanted drug kingpins by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Festus Ibewuike, alias Chidibest Ibewuike, has been arrested and repatriated from the Benin Republic after two years of hiding from the authorities.
Ibewuike was arrested at the Cotonou Airport, Benin Republic, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, following intelligence and a joint operation with INTERPOL between Nigeria and Benin Republic.
The alleged drug kingpin was accordingly, handed over to NDLEA operatives on Friday, September 4, and flown into Nigeria to face further investigation and prosecution.
It was gathered that a 49.7kg Heroin Case led to his manhunt which led to his arrest following a single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.
It was gathered that in February 2024, NDLEA operatives in a 12-day operation intercepted 49.70kg of heroin that were carefully concealed in cartons of metal-cutting machines at the airport’s cargo terminal.
As a result, Ibewuike was declared wanted alongside two others after fleeing Nigeria while his wife, Confidence Ndidiamaka Ibewuike, who allegedly received drug parcels coded “ND” on his behalf, was among those arrested.
The NDLEA also moved decisively and froze 107 bank accounts and secured the forfeiture of properties linked to the cartel.
The case with number FHC/L/205C/2024, is before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The three suspects namely; Adinnu Felix Chinedu, Osita Emmanuel Obinna, and Uzochukwu Frankline, have been convicted and sentenced while three others are still on trial.
According to information pieced together, the 52-year-old suspect operated a hotel business in Mozambique as a front and shuttled between Mozambique, Nigeria, and Benin Republic to evade arrest for the past 24 months.
However, during preliminary interrogation, the suspect admitted to changing his name from Chidibest to Festus Ibewuike.
The drug kingpin was on Saturday, September 5, 2026, taken to the NDLEA Central Exhibit Store in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he identified the heroin parcels bearing the “ND” code linked to his network.
Further investigations by the NDLEA revealed Ibewuike’s prior link to another narcotics case in FHC/L/203C/2013 before Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, involving the seizure of 40.255kg of methamphetamine.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa (retd), described the arrest as a major breakthrough for the Agency.
Marwa said; “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.
“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. This should serve as a fresh warning to fleeing suspects still at large,” he warned.
Marwa praised the Nigerian and Beninese INTERPOL National Central Bureaus for their role in ensuring a smooth transfer of the suspect.
