Operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested Reginald Peter Chidiebere, a notorious drug trafficker who evaded arrest for 13 years after jumping bail in a major cocaine case.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement released on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 over cocaine trafficking and arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of Federal High Court in Lagos under charge number FHC/L/187c/2923. After securing bail, he disappeared and remained in hiding for over a decade.
His name resurfaced in February 2024 when investigators linked him to the importation of 49.70 kilogrammes of heroin from South Africa. The illegal shipment was intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA officers later raided his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites along Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, on February 19, 2024, where an additional 2.20 kilogrammes of heroin were recovered from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. Following the operation, Chidiebere fled again, prompting the agency to secure an interim forfeiture of his hotel and freeze multiple bank accounts linked to him.
Babafemi said the sustained pressure eventually forced Chidiebere out of hiding, leading to his surrender on February 13, 2026. He has now been taken into custody and will face his pending charges from 2013, alongside new counts related to the 2024 heroin smuggling operation.
Reacting to the arrest, NDLEA Chairman, Buba Marwa, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks across the country, praising officers for their determination and professionalism.
In related operations nationwide, NDLEA operatives in Imo State on February 25 uncovered a hidden drug laboratory in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area, where 18.4 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, large volumes of precursor chemicals, and production equipment were seized. At the Seme border in Lagos on February 27, officers intercepted a Togolese woman, Hadiza Musa, with 5,000 tramadol pills concealed in her luggage.
In another raid, 1,040 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from an uncompleted building in Akodo village, Seaside Eleko, along the Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos. Additional seizures recorded across states included 1,499 bottles of codeine syrup in Kano, 87.4 kilogrammes of skunk in Katsina, and 18.085 kilogrammes of skunk in Osun, underscoring intensified nationwide efforts to curb drug trafficking.
