THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has arrested a 59-year-old drug baron, Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, who has been on the run for 17 years.
NDLEA chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, told news reporters in Abuja that Kevin Jeff was an international drug kingpin allegedly trafficking illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the globe. He said Kevin Jeff was arrested based on Interpol red notice and intelligence provided by the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.
“On Wednesday, 12th February 2025, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, a 59-year-old drug baron. The suspect was arrested at his hideout at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, Lagos. He has been under the NDLEA investigation before his arrest,” Marwa said.
He noted that his agency had comprehensive intelligence on Jeff’s activities, and ‘incontrovertible facts that he is a notorious drug lord” who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of South Korea.
He added, “We have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods. Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas. Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house,” Marwa said.
He said Jeff’s dossier indicated that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008.
Despite this, the suspect continued his illicit trade, remaining actively involved in drug trafficking operations, Marwa stated.
