• Suspect linked to N1.4 billion illicit drug trade, faces extradition to South Korea
DAILY COURIER – After 17 years of evading justice, a notorious drug baron, Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout in Ojo, Lagos. The 59-year-old fugitive, who had been on Interpol’s red notice list, was apprehended following a collaborative operation with the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, March 3, 2025. He described the arrest as a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s fight against transnational drug trafficking, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to dismantling syndicates that use the country as a hub for illicit narcotics.
Jeff’s arrest marks the end of a long-running operation that spanned West Africa, Asia, and Southern Africa. Investigations revealed that he had been trafficking narcotics to South Korea, recruiting young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle methamphetamine and other illicit drugs into the country.
According to Gen. Marwa, Jeff was first convicted in South Korea in 2007 and served a one-year prison sentence before being deported to Nigeria in 2008. However, instead of abandoning his criminal enterprise, he expanded operations, orchestrating drug shipments remotely from Nigeria.
“Our records reveal that many Nigerians arrested abroad for drug offences were linked to him. He laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods,” Marwa said.
NDLEA’s investigation established Jeff as the ringleader of an international drug trafficking cartel that smuggled drugs from West Africa to South Korea, using contacts in Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and other African countries. His operations were so vast that South Korea had issued two arrest warrants against him, while Interpol had placed a red notice for his capture.
One of his shipments, intercepted in October 2023, involved 6,051 grams of skunk concealed in dried chillies and jujube, which he sent to a Korean accomplice, Kim Dong Wook, in Jinju City, South Korea. Additionally, between December 2023 and April 2024, he directed two couriers, Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea.
“In recent times alone, Jeff has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4 billion in street value to South Korea,” Marwa stated.
Jeff’s arrest is part of NDLEA’s intensified efforts to ensure Nigeria does not serve as a base for global drug cartels. A search of his residence led to the discovery of multiple Nigerian passports, many containing Korean visas, as well as illicit substances stored in a warehouse behind his house.
Marwa emphasized that Nigeria will not tolerate drug lords operating within its borders, assuring that Jeff will be held accountable.
“This arrest is a clear message that Nigeria will not be a safe haven for drug barons. We remain committed to dismantling criminal networks and ensuring those involved in drug trafficking face the full weight of the law,” he declared.
With his extradition to South Korea imminent, Jeff faces prosecution under Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
His arrest underscores NDLEA’s renewed war on drug barons, ensuring that no criminal evades justice, no matter how long they hide.
