The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a wanted drug baron, Joachin Chikaodi Mbonu, allegedly involved in the production and distribution of the deadly psychoactive substance, methamphetamine, popularly called ‘mkpuru mmiri’.
The agency said the 42-year-old suspect was arrested alongside his associate in his mansion tucked in his Umuomi village, Uzogba-Ezenomi autonomous community, Ikeduru local government area of Imo State.
The director of media and advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Tuesday, July 9, said the suspect is leading a drug cartel with operational bases in Imo and Rivers states.
He said that the NDLEA target him following intelligence indicating that he is responsible for the distribution of a substantial quantity of methamphetamine in South East, South-South and other parts of the country.
Babafemi said exhibits recovered from the house include: 419.99 grams of methamphetamine; 750 grams of iodine, a precursor chemical for meth; 500 grams of sodium bicarbonate, a precursor chemical for meth; two electronic weighing scales and a pump action gun with four cartridges.
According to him, the NDLEA operatives moved swiftly to another hideout of the suspect located at 11 Redemption Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers state where they recovered 750 grams of processed sodium bicarbonate; 170 grams of plain sodium bicarbonate, and 75 grams of meth.
He indicated that another raid in the home of one of Mbonu’s associates, Odoemenam Pedro Chinedu, currently at large, at Njaba LGA, Imo state, led to the recovery of another pump action gun with 25 cartridges, among other items.
Babafemi said while the kingpin remains in custody, two of his mansions in Imo state have been marked for possible forfeiture to the federal government.
“Mbonu had escaped from South Africa where he lived for years and mastered the art of cooking methamphetamine after he came under investigation for drug dealings.
“Upon his return to Nigeria, he continued the criminal trade by setting up clandestine laboratories in remote villages to shield his nefarious activities,” Babafemi added.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has commended the officers and men involved in the operation, and added that the manner the interdiction was carried out should be a strong warning to other drug cartels that there’s no hiding place for them in any part of the country.
