by Willy Okonji-
After 17 years of operating in the shadows, 59-year-old drug baron Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff—accused of shipping illicit drugs worth billions of naira worldwide—has been apprehended by operatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Jeff was arrested at his hideout in the Ojo area of Lagos, marking a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s fight against international drug trafficking.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), announced the arrest during a press briefing in Abuja. “On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, we achieved a major objective in the successful arrest of Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff,” Marwa declared. He explained that the operation was the culmination of persistent surveillance following an Interpol red notice and intelligence provided by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
Investigations revealed that Jeff led an international drug trafficking organization responsible for coordinating the smuggling of illicit substances into South Korea and other nations. A search of his Lagos hideout at No. 3, Ibukunoluwa Taiwo Close, off LASU Road, uncovered multiple Nigerian international passports—each bearing different identities and Korean visas—along with a storehouse filled with illicit substances.
Marwa detailed Jeff’s extensive criminal history, noting that he had served a one-year prison sentence in South Korea in 2007 before being deported back to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this setback, Jeff allegedly resumed his activities by recruiting young Nigerians as couriers and laundering drug proceeds through seemingly legitimate imports, including electronics.
The NDLEA’s investigation further uncovered that Jeff’s syndicate had a wide international reach, with members operating in Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and other parts of East and Southern Africa. In one operation, Jeff concealed 6,051.06 grammes of skunk in dried chillies and jujube, dispatching the package from Burkina Faso to a Korean accomplice, Kim Dong Wook, in Jinju City. The shipment, valued at over N1.4 billion, arrived at Incheon Airport on October 29, 2023. Additionally, between December 2023 and April 2024, he directed couriers, including Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle five kilogrammes of methamphetamine into South Korea.
Marwa also highlighted that Jeff maintained a local carrier known as “Asa,” who delivered drug consignments to a warehouse managed by Okori Emmanuel—a key figure in Jeff’s South Korean operations. Owing to these extensive activities, two arrest warrants were issued by the Seoul Central District Court in 2024, charging him with multiple narcotics offences punishable by life imprisonment under South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act.
“We will continue our relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with our mandate to safeguard public health and national security,” Marwa affirmed. The NDLEA’s decisive action against Jeff underscores its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a hub for international drug trafficking.
