Nigerian authorities have arrested a social media influencer and a logistics company employee in connection with the seizure of 184.5 kilograms of cocaine valued at approximately $28 million. The drugs were discovered concealed in brown boxes at a courier facility in Lagos on Monday, August 3.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stated that the cocaine was part of an international trafficking network that has long utilized Nigeria as a transit point for drugs destined for the United Kingdom, other European countries, and Asia.
Days after the seizure, on August 13, influencer Afolabi Kazeem Micheal, also known as 'KC Luxury,' was apprehended at Lagos's Murtala Mohammed International Airport. According to the NDLEA, he was attempting to board a business-class flight to Paris. "Upon credible intelligence that he intended to flee the country… our operatives moved decisively and apprehended him at the boarding gate… just as he attempted to escape the reach of the law," said General Buba Marwa, the head of the NDLEA.
When arrested, Micheal was carrying over $12,840 in cash in euros, pounds, and naira, along with expensive jewelry, which the agency described as "consistent with the proceeds of his illicit trade."
A second suspect, identified as 33-year-old Lawal Mujab Kehinde, is alleged to be a staff member of the logistics company through which the cocaine was transported. The NDLEA claims Kehinde packaged the cocaine for export and received cash payments. Kehinde has not commented on the allegations and has not yet been charged in court.
The NDLEA reported that other suspected members of the network in the UK have also been apprehended by international law enforcement agencies. General Marwa praised the collaboration between international agencies in achieving the arrests and pledged to continue pursuing other members of the trafficking ring. "We will track you to the departure gates if we must," he stated at a news conference in Lagos.