Hurricane NDLEA flushes wanted Dr¥g Kingpin out of hiding after 13 years

 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Reginald Peter Chidiebere, a suspected dr¥g kingpin who had been in hiding for 13 years after jumping bail.

In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 for coc+ine traff+cking and arraigned before Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos. He was granted bail but absconded shortly after his release.

According to the agency, his name resurfaced in February 2024 as one of the masterminds behind the importation of 49.70 kilogrammes of her+in from South Africa. The shipment was intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja.

A follow-up raid on February 19, 2024, at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites in Okota, Lagos, led to the recovery of an additional 2.20 kilogrammes of her+in from one of his guests. After the operation, Chidiebere reportedly went underground again.

The NDLEA said it secured an interim forfeiture of the hotel and blocked bank accounts linked to him.

Babafemi disclosed that the suspect eventually surrendered to the agency on February 13, 2026, after he could no longer sustain life in hiding. He is now in custody and will face pending charges from 2013 as well as fresh charges tied to the 2024 her+in shipments.