Gom Mirian
Ibrahim Momoh, also known as Ibrahim Bendel, the wanted drug kingpin who had evaded capture for seven years, has finally been apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The notorious drug kingpin, who had escaped from prison custody in Abuja after being convicted for drug dealing, was reported to have been apprehended in a sting operation carried out by NDLEA operatives who had been tracking his movements for several months.
According to Femi Babafemi, the spokesman for NDLEA on Sunday, Ibrahim Bendel was a notorious major distributor of illicit substances within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Over the years, he established a vast network of drug trafficking operations, spreading his influence and jeopardising the lives and safety of countless individuals within the region.
Babafemi said that the agency had received intelligence that Bendel had returned to the country and was actively involved in drug trafficking once again.
He said: “Ibrahim Bendel was first arrested on 27th November 2014 with cannabis sativa weighing 385.1kgs, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on 22nd July, 2015, but while serving his jail term at Kuje, he escaped from prison custody on 16th May, 2016.
“Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on 20th November 2022 stormed the warehouse of the fleeing ex-convict, Ibrahim Momoh, and recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278kgs.
“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. Tjaiagency thereafter declared Ibrahim Momoh wanted.
“The manhunt for the drug lord paid off on 5th November 2023 when operatives again raided his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of Abuja, where he was arrested with 56.9kgs of cannabis sativa and 42.7 grams of Diazepam,” Babafemi stated.
Bendel will now face trial for his previous drug-related offences, as well as new charges stemming from his recent activities.
According to him, in another raid in the same area of the FCT on Monday, November 13th, a suspect named Yusufa Ibrahim, 27- years – old was also arrested with 75.3kgs of cannabis.
The NDLEA has urged the public to continue providing information on the whereabouts of other wanted drug traffickers, as the agency remains committed to ridding the country of illicit substances and those who profit from their distribution.
