National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a notorious drug lord, Ibrahim Momoh, who had been on the run for seven years after escaping from Kuje Prison in Abuja.
Momoh, also known as Ibrahim Bendel, was apprehended on November 5 in a raid on his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of Abuja.
He was found in possession of 56.9kg of Indian hemp and 42.7 grams of Diazepam, according to a statement signed by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
The NDLEA mouthpiece further said Momoh was a major distributor of illicit substances within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and had been declared wanted by the agency. He said Momoh was first arrested on November 17, 2014, with 385.1kgs of Indian hemp and was convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on July 22, 2015.
However, he escaped from prison custody on May 16, 2016, and resumed his drug trafficking activities.
Babafemi further disclosed that the NDLEA operatives had earlier raided Momoh’s warehouse on November 20, 2022, and seized 81 jumbo bags of Indian hemp weighing 1,278kgs. The warehouse was located within his poultry farm in the Dei-Dei area of the FCT.
He said Momoh was not around at the time of the operation, but his warehouse manager, a 55-year-old Ghanaian, Richard Forson Gordon, was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years in jail.
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Babafemi commended the NDLEA operatives for their diligence and professionalism in tracking down and arresting the fugitive drug lord. He said the agency would continue to pursue and bring to justice all drug traffickers and peddlers in the country.