The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted suspected drug baron, Ogbonnaya Jeff, in his hideout in the Ojo area of Lagos State.
The NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), confirmed the development to journalists on Monday in Abuja.
He said the 59-year-old was arrested after 17 years of hiding to ship illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the world.
Marwa added that men of the agency’s “Special Operations Unit” had been on the trail of the suspect for years.
This, according to the NDLEA boss, followed an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.
He said: “I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country.
“As we said four years ago when we began the reform of the NDLEA, our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.
“On February 12, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of the suspect in his hideout in Lagos.
“He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest.
“As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his 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 Korea (South Korea).
“Our records reveal that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him.
“Furthermore, 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 also spoke on the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld.
He added: “The suspect is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad”.
His 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 to the Far East.
“Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices.
“An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024.
“From a series of interdictions, it has been established that the suspect is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People’s Republic of Korea.
“He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate.
“They are spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries.”
Source: Ripples
