Nigeria’s NDLEA Arrests Wanted Drug Kingpin After 13 Years in Hiding

Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a suspected drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, who had been on the run for 13 years after jumping bail over cocaine trafficking charges.

According to the agency, Chidiebere was initially arrested in 2013 following the seizure of cocaine shipments linked to him at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. He was later arraigned before the Federal High Court of Nigeria, but fled after being granted bail.

Authorities said his name resurfaced in February 2024 as a key figure behind the importation of nearly 50 kilograms of heroin from South Africa. Investigations also led to the recovery of additional heroin from a guest at his hotel in Lagos.

The agency subsequently secured the interim forfeiture of the property and froze bank accounts linked to him. After years in hiding, Chidiebere eventually surrendered to NDLEA operatives on February 13, 2026, and is now in custody to face both the earlier charges and new drug trafficking counts.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives dismantled a clandestine drug laboratory in Imo State, where about 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and production equipment were recovered.

The agency also reported multiple drug interceptions across the country, including the seizure of opioids from a Togolese woman at the Seme Border in Lagos and large quantities of cannabis and codeine syrup in several states.

Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers for their persistence in tracking the fugitive and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks across Nigeria.