NDLEA drug kingpin arrest sees Uzoma Ilomuanya captured in Lagos after 15 years on the run over global narcotics offences

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Buba Marwa, has confirmed the arrest of a suspected international drug kingpin, Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, who had been on the wanted list of Nigerian and British authorities for more than 15 years.

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Ilomuanya was apprehended in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, during a coordinated operation carried out by officers of the agency’s Special Operations Unit.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect has a long record of drug trafficking activities spanning Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Babafemi said Ilomuanya was first arrested in the UK in February 2003 and convicted for drug trafficking offences. A British court sentenced him to nine years in prison, although he was released after serving two years following a successful appeal.

Authorities later arrested him again in July 2011 in the UK for further drug-related offences. He was granted administrative bail but reportedly absconded and fled to Nigeria.

The statement added that the NDLEA previously arrested Ilomuanya in Nigeria in November 2018 after uncovering two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories linked to him.

One of the facilities was located at his residence in Lagos, while the second was discovered at his country home in Obinugwu, in the Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.

During that raid, NDLEA operatives recovered 77.960 kilograms of methamphetamine along with extensive equipment used in the production of illicit drugs.

Ilomuanya was subsequently charged before the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Lagos. However, he later jumped bail and disappeared, prompting authorities to declare him wanted.

“His arrest ends a long-standing cat-and-mouse game with the law following his persistent involvement in the global narcotics trade,” the statement said, describing the development as a major breakthrough in the agency’s ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking networks.

Marwa commended the Special Operations Unit for successfully tracking the fugitive and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to intelligence-driven enforcement and international cooperation to prevent Nigeria from being used as a base for illicit drug activities.

The NDLEA drug kingpin arrest comes just days after the agency announced the capture of another suspected trafficker, Reginald Chidiebere, who had allegedly been in hiding for 13 years over involvement in cocaine and heroin trafficking.

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Officials said the latest operations reflect intensified efforts to dismantle drug syndicates operating both within Nigeria and across international borders.