NDLEA Arrests Notorious Drug Kingpin In Abuja

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a notorious drug dealer, Ibrahim Bendel, also known as Ibrahim Momoh.

The suspect is reportedly known as a major distributor of illegal substances in Abuja.

The suspect is said to have been on the run since he escaped from prison custody in 2016 following his conviction for drug dealing.

On November 20, 2022, NDLEA operatives raided Momoh’s hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) based on credible intelligence. They discovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278kgs in a warehouse located within his poultry farm. Although Momoh was not present at the time, his warehouse manager, Richard Forson Gordon, a 55-year-old Ghanaian, was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to two years in jail. Momoh was subsequently declared a wanted fugitive.

The relentless pursuit of the drug lord finally paid off on November 5, 2023, when NDLEA operatives raided his hideout once again, this time at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of Abuja. He was apprehended with 56.9kgs of cannabis sativa and 42.7 grams of Diazepam. In another operation on November 13, 2023, in the same area of the FCT, a suspect named Yusufa Ibrahim was arrested with 75.3kgs of cannabis.

The agency also on November 18th, 2023, carried out a significant operation in the forest of Efon Alaye in the Efon local government area of Ekiti state, resulting in the eradication of 52,500 kilograms of cannabis sativa that covered over 21 hectares of farmland. Additionally, 92 bags of the same substance weighing 1,380 kilograms were seized, and another 250 bags weighing 3,000 were destroyed after being found in various huts on the farm.

The Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, reported that 15 suspects were apprehended during the operation. In Ondo state, five individuals, including a wanted drug kingpin named Christopher Onyebuchi, were arrested at New Bridge Compound, Idoani, on November 15th, and a total of 1,945 kilograms of cannabis was confiscated from them.

Onyebuchi had previously been arrested by the NDLEA on March 25th, 2022, with 89kgs of the same substance but absconded after being arraigned at the Federal High Court, Akure. In addition, operatives in the state raided Upemen village in Owo on November 12th, where they recovered 1,834kgs of the same substance, with 273kgs also seized the previous day, Saturday, November 11th, at Ipesi Akoko.