The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully dismantled a significant drug cartel responsible for the production and distribution of methamphetamine, commonly known as ‘mkpuru mmiri’. The bust was announced by Mr. Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy for NDLEA, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The cartel’s leader, 42-year-old Joachin Mbonu, was apprehended alongside his associate, Chibuike Ofoegbu, at Mbonu’s mansion in Umuomi village, Uzogba-Ezenomi autonomous community, Ikeduru Local Government Area, Imo State. The cartel operated from bases in Imo and Rivers States and was implicated in the widespread distribution of methamphetamine across the South-East, South-South, and other regions of Nigeria.
Following extensive surveillance, NDLEA officers from a special operations unit tracked Mbonu to his village mansion, where they found various quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals, as well as a pump action gun and cartridges. Recovered items included:
– 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
– A pump action gun with four cartridges
Further raids were conducted at Mbonu’s other hideouts, including a location at 11 Redemption Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where additional methamphetamine and precursor chemicals were found. A subsequent search of an associate’s home in Njaba LGA, Imo State, led to the discovery of another pump action gun with 25 cartridges.
Mbonu, who had previously fled from South Africa to evade drug-related investigations, established clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in remote Nigerian villages upon his return. His two mansions in Imo State have been marked for possible forfeiture to the Federal Government as he remains in custody.
