NDLEA Smashes Cocaine Cartel, Arrests Fleeing Drug Kingpin

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled an international cocaine trafficking cartel that used Nigeria as a transit hub for moving illicit drugs to the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, arresting its Nigerian kingpin as he attempted to flee the country.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed this while addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, saying the operation led to the seizure of 184.50kg of cocaine, the largest cocaine seizure made by the agency from a courier company in Nigeria.

According to Marwa, the cocaine consignment was intercepted while being processed for onward export through a courier logistics channel in Lagos. The cartel reportedly hoped to realise as much as N39bn from the consignment through its international distribution network.

Following the seizure, Marwa directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to trace the network behind the shipment, leading to the arrest of two key suspects and several other associates.

One of the suspects, Lawal Kehinde, a staff member of the logistics company through which the cocaine was processed, was allegedly responsible for packaging and processing consignments for the syndicate and routing them to the UK, other parts of Europe and Asia.

The agency said Kehinde maintained a sustained relationship with the cartel’s Nigerian coordinator and was paid in cash for his role.

The second suspect, Afolabi Michael, popularly known as “KC Luxury”, was identified as the Nigerian arrowhead of the cartel.

According to the NDLEA, Michael presented himself publicly as a social media influencer and businessman dealing in gold, jewellery and luxury goods, while allegedly using the glamorous image to conceal his involvement in an international cocaine trafficking network.

Marwa said Michael was arrested on August 13 at the boarding gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, after intelligence indicated that he planned to flee Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris.

He was allegedly found with €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000 in cash, as well as expensive jewellery.

A subsequent search of his luxury apartment on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, the agency said.

Marwa said investigations further revealed that the cartel used false identities to conceal the true consignors of its shipments and relied on financial facilitators to move billions of naira on its behalf.

He added that the syndicate maintained criminal contacts in the United Kingdom, some of whom had been arrested by British authorities in connection with the same network.

The NDLEA chairman linked the operation to recent successes recorded against transnational drug trafficking organisations, including the dismantling of the Switzerland-based Simon Amadi drug cartel and two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine syndicates operating clandestine laboratories in Ogun and Oyo states.

Marwa said the latest operation demonstrated the agency’s ability to track drug traffickers regardless of where they operated.

He also expressed concern over what he described as a deliberate shift by drug trafficking organisations from seaports and airports to courier and logistics companies, which they allegedly perceive as less monitored channels for moving narcotics across borders.

“The dismantling of this cartel, from the interception of the consignment at a courier logistics channel right through to the arrest of its Nigerian arrowhead, is a clear demonstration that this Agency has both the capacity and the capability to fish out traffickers wherever they choose to hide,” Marwa said.

He described the arrests in Nigeria and the UK as a significant achievement in international cooperation, commending the agency’s international partners and the Special Investigation Team for their role in the investigation.

Marwa warned individuals who attempt to conceal drug trafficking activities behind luxury lifestyles and social media personas that the agency would continue to pursue them.

“To those who believe they can hide behind luxury brands, glamorous lifestyles, and social media personas while trafficking poison into our communities and across our borders, this Agency will find you,” he said.