ICYMI: A Nigerian drug lord is detained in an Imo house after escaping South Africa.
Joachin Mbonu, a drug lord who was on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s wanted list, has been taken into custody.
On July 5, Mbonu was taken into custody by NDLEA agents at his Imo State village estate.
The agency’s spokeswoman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Tuesday that Mbonu and his associate had been taken into custody.
According to him, Mbonu is a member of a narcotics organisation that produces methamphetamine.
“A significant drug gang responsible for manufacturing and distributing the lethal psychoactive drug methamphetamine, also known as ‘Mkpuru mmiri,’ has been brought down by NDLEA agents
according to Babafemi. This is due to the arrest of the syndicate’s leader, 42-year-old Joachin Chikaodi Mbonu, and his associate from their mansion located in
Umuomi village, Uzogba-Ezenomi autonomous community, Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State.
The cartel, which has operational bases in the states of Imo and Rivers, was identified by the agency as a target after intelligence revealed it was in charge of distributing significant amounts of methamphetamine
throughout the South-East, South-South, and other regions of the nation.
According to Babafemi, among the items retrieved by the operators during the operation were 750 grammes of iodine, 419.99 grammes of methamphetamine, and a pump action rifle with four rounds.
He stated, “On Friday, July 5, 2024, following weeks of surveillance, agents from the agency’s special operations unit tracked and traced the drug lord to his village mansion in Imo State, where he was caught
with Kenneth Chibuike Ofoegbu, 34, a member of his cartel, with various amounts of methamphetamine, its precursor chemicals, a pump action gun, and cartridges recovered.”
419.99 grammes of methamphetamine, 750 grammes of iodine, 500 grammes of sodium bicarbonate, and two electronic weighing scales together with a pump action gun with four rounds are among the
exhibits that were found inside the house.
According to Babafemi, the agents also searched the homes of Mbonu’s colleagues in the states of Rivers and Imo, finding many illegal substances.
“The agents proceeded immediately to an additional Mbonu hiding place situated at 11 Redemption Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where they retrieved extra exhibits,” he stated. 75 grammes of meth
and 170 grammes of regular sodium bicarbonate made up the 750 grammes of processed sodium bicarbonate.
“Among other things, another pump action gun with 25 ammunition was recovered at the residence of one of Mbonu’s colleagues, Odoemenam Pedro Chinedu, who is presently at large, in Njaba LGA, Imo
State, following another raid. Two of the kingpin’s Imo State homes have been flagged for potential forfeiture to the federal government as he waits it out in detention.
According to Babafemi, Mbonu learned how to cook methamphetamine after fleeing his long-term home of South Africa.
He continued by saying that he established covert laboratories in isolated villages to carry out his evil operations after returning to Nigeria.
