By A 59-year-old wanted drug baron, Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout in the Ojo area of Lagos. His capture follows 17 years in hiding, during which he allegedly oversaw illicit drug shipments worth billions of naira across the world.
Buba Marwa
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, 3rd March 2025. He detailed how NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit tracked Ogbonnaya based on an Interpol Red Notice and intelligence from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Marwa stated, “The major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord wanted globally as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation. This significant breakthrough reinforces our commitment to dismantling drug syndicates operating in Nigeria.
“As we declared four years ago during NDLEA’s reform, our prime targets are drug barons and key figures orchestrating trafficking networks. On Wednesday, 12th February 2025, we achieved that objective with the arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos. He has long been under NDLEA investigation, and we have concrete evidence proving he is a notorious drug lord who recruits young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into South Korea.”
According to Marwa, many Nigerians arrested abroad for drug-related offences were linked to Ogbonnaya. Intelligence also confirmed that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods. A search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports with Korean visas, along with illicit substances stored at the back of his house.
The suspect
The NDLEA chief further revealed Ogbonnaya’s leadership role in the global drug trade. “He is not just a domestic trafficker but an international kingpin operating from Nigeria and overseas. His record shows he served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 before being deported to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this, he remained active in drug trafficking to the Far East.
“He is currently wanted in South Korea for multiple drug-related offences. An Interpol Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition over crimes committed between 2023 and 2024. Investigations have confirmed that he is the ringleader of a network smuggling narcotics into South Korea, directing operations remotely through a syndicate spanning Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and parts of East and Southern Africa.”
Marwa provided further details on the suspect’s illicit activities. “On 5th October 2023, he sent 6,051.06 grams of skunk, hidden in dried chillies and jujube, to a South Korean, Kim Dong Wook, at a designated address in Jinju City. The package arrived at Incheon Airport on 19th October 2023 via Air France.
“Investigations also show that between December 2023 and April 2024, while residing in Nigeria, he directed his couriers, Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights. In recent times alone, he has trafficked illicit drugs worth over N1.4 billion in street value to the country.
“Ogbonnaya employs a domestic carrier known as ‘Asa’, who delivers his drug consignments to a warehouse operated by Okori Emmanuel, a Nigerian acting as his supply manager in South Korea. Two arrest warrants were issued against him by the Seoul Central District Court in January and June 2024 for violating Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offence punishable by life imprisonment.”
Reaffirming NDLEA’s commitment to combatting drug cartels, Marwa declared, “We remain steadfast in ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking. The arrest of Ogbonnaya is a testament to our resolve to collaborate with international partners and prevent drug barons from using Nigeria as a hub for illicit operations.”
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