NDLEA blocks N9.8b bank account, declares drug kingpin, associates wanted

…..Secures forfeiture of multi-billion-naira fuel station, buildings, SUVs, others

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has frozen the bank accounts of drug kingpins, Nnamuka Kelvin Uchenna (a.k.a Odogwu) and three of his associates: Emmanuella Chinonso Iroka; Nnamuka Ifeanyi Kingsley; and Ekechi Franklin Chijioke (a.k.a Ekene Okwunaga), who have also been declared wanted over their involvement in the establishment of a clandestine laboratory, production of methamphetamine and drug money laundering.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, in a statement on Friday, said the suspects were declared wanted based on the order of Justice Iniekenimi Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Owerri, Imo State, following an application by the NDLEA in suit number FHC/OW/CS/22/2026 filed before the court on 3rd July 2026.

According to the NDLEA, ” This followed the discovery of a methamphetamine producing clandestine laboratory where 18.4 kilograms of the illicit substance and other items were recovered by its operatives at Isiozi in Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State on 25th February 2026″

Babafemi said, “Investigations later linked the wanted suspects to the meth lab, and they have since gone into hiding”

“Through forensic investigation of the meth syndicate by NDLEA operatives, bank accounts linked to the wanted suspects with a combined balance of Nine Billion, Eight Hundred and Forty Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty Six Naira, Sixty Six Kobo (N9,840,873,566.66) only was frozen while the Agency has secured interim forfeiture orders covering multi billion naira assets owned by members of the syndicate.

The assets include a filling station, multi-storey residential buildings and four Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) marked RLU 148 AJ; KJA 563 FZ; BWR 249 DY and FST 208 HU.

Reacting to the development, Buba Marwa, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, commended the officers and operatives involved in the operation, describing it as a clear demonstration of the Agency’s resolve to dismantle drug trafficking networks and disrupt the financial architecture that sustains them.

He stated that the “latest operation reaffirms our unwavering commitment to tracking down drug kingpins and their collaborators, no matter how sophisticated their network or how long they attempt to evade justice.

He stressed that the seizure should send an “unambiguous message that the illegal drug business is no longer a haven for criminals seeking to launder their ill-gotten wealth through legitimate enterprises.

He also assured Nigerians that the Agency “will not relent in going after the fleeing suspects and anyone else linked to this syndicate. We will continue to deploy financial and forensic intelligence to trace, freeze and forfeit assets acquired through drug trafficking, just as we will not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law against fugitives who think they can hide from justice.”

Marwa, therefore, appealed to members of the public with useful information on the whereabouts of the wanted suspects to “volunteer such information to the nearest NDLEA office or through our confidential lines, as we remain committed to ridding our communities of the scourge of drug trafficking and its attendant social and economic harm”