After 13 years in hiding, an alleged notorious drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, has been taken into custody following the seizure of large consignments of cocaine and heroin linked to him by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
In a statement issued on Sunday, March 1, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 over a cocaine shipment into Nigeria. He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/187c/2923. However, after being granted bail in 2013, he reportedly absconded and remained at large.
Babafemi further revealed that in February 2024, Chidiebere was identified as one of the masterminds behind the importation of 49.70 kilograms of heroin from South Africa, following the interception of the consignment by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport’s import shed.
A follow-up operation conducted on February 19, 2024, at his Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located at No. 16/18 Reginald Peter Chidiebere Street, Hope Estate, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, led to the recovery of an additional 2.20 kilograms of heroin from one of his guests, Igbuanugo Ebuka ThankGod. Following the operation, Chidiebere reportedly went underground. The agency subsequently secured an interim forfeiture of the hotel and froze bank accounts linked to him in 2024.
According to the statement, mounting pressure eventually forced Chidiebere out of hiding, leading to his surrender to the agency on February 13, 2026. He is now in custody to face the pending charges for which he jumped bail in 2013, as well as fresh charges related to the 2024 heroin consignments.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives in Imo State on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, dismantled a clandestine laboratory in Isiozi Obiato, Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area, where 18.4 kilograms of methamphetamine were recovered, along with a large quantity of precursor chemicals and equipment used in producing the illicit drug.
