How wanted Drug Baron was arrested by NDLEA with N1.4bn illicit drugs

How wanted Drug Baron was arrested by NDLEA with N14bn illicit drugs
How wanted Drug Baron was arrested by NDLEA with N1.4bn illicit drugs
After 17 years of hiding in the dark to ship illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the world, the reign of a wanted 59-year-old drug baron, Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, has been brought to a halt following his arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos.



Chairman/chief executive officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), who revealed this at the press briefing in Abuja on Monday, detailed how operatives of the agency’s Special Operations Unit had been on the trail of Ogbonnaya following an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

According to Marwa: “The major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who’s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation. I am therefore pleased to disclose this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country. As we have reported four years ago when we began the amend of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organize drug trafficking rings.

“On Wednesday, 12th February 2025, we accomplished that objective in the successful arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, a 59-year-old drug baron. The suspect was arrested at his hideout at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos. He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest. As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his activities, and incontrovertible facts that he is the notorious drug lord who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

“Our records report that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him. Furthermore, we have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods. Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas. Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house.”



While unmasking the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss stated: “Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad. His dossier indicates that he served an one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this, he endured his illicit trade, continuing actively involved in drug trafficking operations to the Far East.

“Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices. An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024. From the series of interdictions, it has been established that Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People’s Republic of Korea. He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries.”

He further gave insights into what investigations had uncovered about Ogbonnaya’s illicit trade activities. “On 5th October 2023, at the location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06 grams of skunk, concealed in dried chillies and jujube, to a Korean, Kim Dong Wook at a designated address in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The package arrived at Incheon Airport on 19th October 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

“Investigation discloses that while residing in Nigeria, he directed his drug couriers, Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle a total of five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights, between December 2023 and April 2024. In recent time alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4billion in street value to South Korea.





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“Ogbonnoya maintains another domestic carrier, identified as “Asa”, who delivers for him drug consignments to a warehouse operated by Okori Emmanuel, the Nigerian who is his supply manager in South Korea. As of now, two arrest warrants have been issued against Ogbonnaya by the Seoul Central District Court in January and June 2024. These warrants accuse him with importing narcotic drugs in violation of Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.”

Marwa assured of NDLEA’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations. “We will remain our relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with our mandate to safeguard public health and national security. The arrest of Ogbonnaya is therefore the affirmation of our resolve to work with our international partners to ensure no drug baron exposes Nigeria a comfort zone to distribute illicit substances within the country or traffic them to other countrie,” he said.





Regards to Leadership


Category: World-News
Tag: How wanted Drug Baron was arrested by NDLEA with N14bn illicit drugs
Written by Author
Published 3/3/2025

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