The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 59-year-old drug baron, Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, who had been on the agency’s wanted list for 17 years.
NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), disclosed during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, March 3, 2025, that Jeff was arrested at his hideout at No. 3 Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos, following an Interpol red notice and intelligence from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
According to Marwa, the suspect had been trafficking illicit drugs globally, recruiting young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle substances into South Korea. Jeff, who served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 before deportation to Nigeria in 2008, continued his illegal activities despite being under surveillance.
A search of his residence uncovered multiple Nigerian international passports with Korean visas, along with illicit substances stored in a warehouse behind his house.
Marwa revealed that Jeff laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics, with recent consignments valued at over N1.4 billion. His accomplice, identified as ‘Asa,’ delivered the drugs to a warehouse managed by Okori Emmanuel, his supply manager in South Korea.
The NDLEA has issued two arrest warrants against Jeff from the Seoul Central District Court, cementing his status as a notorious international trafficker.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to clamping down on drug cartels, having arrested 14,480 traffickers and seized 2.4 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs between January and October 2024.
