After more than a decade on the run, a suspected drug kingpin, Reginald Peter Chidiebere, has been taken into custody following renewed investigations linking him to major narcotics shipments intercepted in recent years by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Chidiebere was first arrested in 2013 over allegations bordering on the importation of cocaine into Nigeria. He was subsequently arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos and granted bail. However, shortly after securing his release, he absconded and failed to appear for trial, effectively going into hiding for 13 years.
His name resurfaced prominently in February 2024 when anti-narcotics operatives intercepted a shipment of 49.70 kilogrammes of heroin at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Investigations allegedly linked the consignment, which had been imported from South Africa, to Chidiebere as one of its masterminds.
Acting on intelligence, operatives conducted a follow-up operation at his hotel property, Golden Platinum Hotel & Suites, located in the Ago Palace Way area of Okota, Lagos. During the raid, an additional 2.20 kilogrammes of heroin was reportedly recovered from one of the hotel’s guests, further strengthening suspicions of his continued involvement in narcotics trafficking despite being a fugitive.
Following these developments, authorities secured an interim forfeiture order on the hotel and froze bank accounts traced to him as part of efforts to dismantle his alleged financial network. With assets blocked and pressure mounting, Chidiebere was said to have found it increasingly difficult to sustain himself underground. He eventually surrendered to the agency on February 13, 2026, and has since been taken into custody to face both his pending 2013 charges and fresh allegations connected to the 2024 heroin seizures.
In a related wave of nationwide anti-drug operations, operatives intensified enforcement efforts across several states, leading to multiple arrests and significant seizures of illicit substances.
In Imo State, officers uncovered a clandestine laboratory in the Isiozi Obiato area of Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area. The operation led to the recovery of 18.4 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, along with substantial quantities of precursor chemicals and equipment believed to have been used in the production of the synthetic drug. The discovery highlights growing concerns over local manufacturing of hard drugs within the country.
At the Seme border corridor in the Badagry axis of Lagos, a Togolese national, Hadiza Musa, was intercepted at the departure tarmac while attempting to smuggle 5,000 pills of tramadol concealed in her luggage. In another Lagos-based operation, 1,040 kilogrammes of skunk—a potent strain of cannabis—was recovered from an uncompleted building in Akodo village, Seaside Eleko, in the Ibeju-Lekki area. The large quantity suggested plans for wide distribution within and beyond the state.
Elsewhere, in Kano State, a 45-year-old suspect, Ashiru Bala, was arrested at Lambu in Tafa Local Government Area while transporting 1,499 bottles of codeine syrup in a Volkswagen Golf vehicle. In Katsina State, a 21-year-old suspect, Yahaya Usaini, was apprehended along the Zaria-Dutsinma Road with 87.4 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in a Toyota Hiace bus.
In Osun State, two individuals were arrested in the Aregbe area of Osogbo following the seizure of 18.085 kilogrammes of skunk. Meanwhile, in Taraba State, a major interdiction operation led to the interception of a Mercedes-Benz vehicle conveying 637,600 pills of opioids, including tramadol, diazepam and exol-5, along the Bali-Suntai Road en route to Baruwa in Gashaka Local Government Area. A separate operation in the Lankaviri Yorro area of the state resulted in the arrest of another suspect and the recovery of 126.022 kilogrammes of skunk.
Further operations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, led to the seizure of 499.2 kilogrammes of skunk in the Dei-Dei area. In Borno State, a 24-year-old suspect was intercepted along the Bama-Konduga Road while transporting 7,000 capsules of tramadol in a commercial vehicle.
The series of arrests and seizures underscores intensified enforcement efforts by the anti-narcotics agency to disrupt drug trafficking networks, dismantle local production hubs, and curb cross-border smuggling. Authorities say investigations are ongoing, and those arrested will be prosecuted in accordance with the law as part of broader efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking nationwide.
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