Seven years after escaping from prison, agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) caught a drug baron, Ibrahim Momoh, also known as Ibrahim Bendel.
Momoh was apprehended during a raid on his hideout by NDLEA operatives in Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei, Federal Capital Territory.
This was revealed in a statement written by Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA.
Momoh, a significant illicit substance distributor in the FCT, was detained on November 27, 2014, after being caught by the NDLEA with 385.1 kg of cannabis sativa.
On July 22, 2015, he was convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in jail. He did, however, escape from Kuje jail while completing his term on May 16, 2016.
The statement from the NDLEA in part reads, “Seven years after he escaped from prison custody following his conviction for drug dealing, a notorious major distributor of illicit substances within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Ibrahim Momoh, popularly known as Ibrahim Bendel, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, during a raid of his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of the FCT.
“Ibrahim Momoh was first arrested on November 27, 2014, with cannabis sativa weighing 385.1 kg, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on July 22, 2015, but while serving his jail term at Kuje, he escaped from prison custody on May 16, 2016. ” Following credible intelligence,
NDLEA operatives stormed the warehouse of the fleeing ex-convict, Ibrahim Momoh, on November 20, 2022, and recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278 kg. The store was located within his poultry farm in the Dei-Dei area of the FCT.
“Though Momoh was not around at the time, his warehouse manager, 55-year-old Ghanaian Richard Forson Gordon, was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to two years in jail. The agency, after that, declared Ibrahim Momoh wanted. ” The manhunt for the drug lord paid off on November 5, 2023, when operatives again raided his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of Abuja, where he was arrested with 56.9 kg of cannabis sativa and 42.7 grams of diazepam. In another raid in the same area of the FCT on Monday, November 13, a suspect, Yusufa Ibrahim, 27, was arrested with 75.3 kg of cannabis.
“Meanwhile, a massive operation in the forest of Efon Alaye in the Efon local government area of Ekiti State on Saturday, November 18, 2023, led to the destruction of 52,500 kilograms of cannabis sativa covering over 21 hectares of farmland, while a total of ninety-two bags of the same substance weighing 1,380 kilograms were recovered. Another 250 bags weighing 3,000 kg stored in different huts on the farm were also burned.
“No fewer than 15 suspects were arrested on the farm during the operation. They include: Okikiri Julius, 27; Ozoemene Friday Efajemu, 31; Tosin Ibrahim, 18; Israel Samuel, 25; Godwin David, 39; Friday Isaac, 19; Ayomide Igbekele, 18; Joshua Daniel, 27; Emmanuel Nwachukwu, 19; Emeka Onyeama, 31; Ani Augustine, 27; Obasi Ogbu, 32; Orsusue Peter, 23; Daniel Emmanuel, 18; and Yinusa James, 22.”
