The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested and repatriated Festus Ibewuike, also known as Chidibest Ibewuike, more than two years after a 49.7-kilogram heroin seizure at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
NDLEA said the 52-year-old suspect was arrested at Cotonou airport in Benin Republic on September 2 following intelligence and cooperation with INTERPOL authorities in Nigeria and Benin.
He was handed to NDLEA officers on September 4 and returned to Nigeria to face prosecution over his alleged role in the trafficking network.
The agency described the February 2024 seizure as the largest single heroin consignment intercepted at the Lagos airport.
Investigators said the drugs were concealed in cartons containing metal-cutting machines and marked with the code “ND.”
NDLEA alleged that Ibewuike later relocated to Mozambique and changed his name while continuing to move through neighboring countries.
Those allegations remain subject to judicial determination.
The 2024 investigation led to multiple arrests, the freezing of 107 bank accounts and forfeiture proceedings involving properties allegedly connected to the network.
NDLEA said three defendants in the case had already been convicted, while others remained on trial and some suspects had been charged in absentia.
The agency also alleged that Ibewuike was connected to an earlier case involving 40.255kg of methamphetamine.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa described the arrest as a major breakthrough and said suspects who fled Nigeria should not assume they were beyond the agency’s reach.
He credited cooperation with INTERPOL offices in Nigeria and Benin for the successful transfer and said the agency would continue pursuing fugitives linked to drug-trafficking investigations.
