After 17 years of orchestrating a global drug trafficking network, 59-year-old drug kingpin Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout in Ojo, Lagos.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), described the arrest as a major breakthrough in dismantling international drug syndicates.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Marwa revealed that Jeff had been on the agency’s watchlist, following an Interpol red notice and intelligence from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Jeff, a notorious international trafficker, had been coordinating drug shipments into South Korea and other countries.
He previously served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 before being deported to Nigeria in 2008, only to resume his illegal trade.
On February 12, 2025, NDLEA operatives raided No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos, arresting Jeff and uncovering multiple Nigerian passports with different identities, Korean visas, and a warehouse filled with illicit drugs.
Investigations show that Jeff ran a vast drug empire spanning Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Southern Africa. He recruited young Nigerians as couriers and laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods.
In one instance, Jeff smuggled 6,051.06 grams of skunk hidden in dried chillies and jujube from Burkina Faso to South Korea, a shipment valued at ₦1.4 billion.
Between December 2023 and April 2024, he directed couriers Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman to transport five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea.
Jeff’s South Korean supply manager, Okori Emmanuel, coordinated local distribution, while another associate, “Asa”, handled Nigerian operations.
Seoul Central District Court issued two arrest warrants in 2024, with Jeff facing life imprisonment under South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act.
Marwa reiterated NDLEA’s commitment to eradicating drug cartels and preventing Nigeria from becoming a hub for international trafficking. “We will not relent in our fight against illicit drug networks,” he declared.
