The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 59-year-old drug baron Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, who had been on the run for 17 years while allegedly orchestrating an international drug trafficking network.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), announced the breakthrough on Monday in Abuja, revealing that Jeff was captured at his hideout in Ojo, Lagos. His arrest follows an Interpol Red Notice and intelligence from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
According to Marwa, Jeff was the mastermind behind a syndicate smuggling drugs worth billions of naira into South Korea and other countries. NDLEA records link him to numerous Nigerian couriers arrested abroad for drug-related offenses. Investigations also revealed that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics.
During a search of his residence, NDLEA operatives recovered multiple Nigerian passports with Korean visas and a stockpile of illicit substances. Marwa disclosed that Jeff had served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 before being deported to Nigeria in 2008. However, he continued his operations, directing drug shipments across Africa and Asia.
Recent findings show that between December 2023 and April 2024, Jeff dispatched over N1.4 billion worth of illicit drugs to South Korea, using couriers operating from Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Liberia. He also employed a network of domestic carriers to distribute narcotics.
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The Seoul Central District Court has issued two arrest warrants against Jeff for violating South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offense punishable by life imprisonment.
Marwa reaffirmed NDLEA’s commitment to dismantling drug cartels, stating, “We will continue working with our international partners to ensure that Nigeria is not a safe haven for drug traffickers.”
