The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, a 59-year-old drug baron who has been on the run for 17 years. Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Marwa, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, March 3, 2025.

Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, stated that operatives of the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit had been on the trail of Ogbonnaya following an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea. “The major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who’s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation,” Babafemi quoted Marwa as saying.

Ogbonnaya was arrested at his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos on February 12, 2025. He has been under NDLEA investigation and is known to have recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into South Korea. Babafemi noted that Ogbonnaya laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods, and that multiple Nigerian international passports and illicit substances were recovered from his residence.

Babafemi stated that Ogbonnaya is not a typical domestic drug baron but an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad. He served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008, but continued his illicit trade. Ogbonnaya is currently wanted in South Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences and has two arrest warrants issued against him by the Seoul Central District Court.

Femi Babafemi further stated that Ogbonnaya orchestrated operations remotely, giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate spread across several African countries. He also directed his drug couriers to smuggle methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights. In recent times, Ogbonnaya has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4 billion in street value to South Korea.

Babafemi assured that the NDLEA will continue its relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with its mandate to safeguard public health and national security. “The arrest of Ogbonnaya is therefore an affirmation of our resolve to work with our international partners to ensure no drug baron finds Nigeria a comfort zone to distribute illicit substances within the country or traffic them to other countries,” Marwa said.