Crime
NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs

NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs
By: Michael Mike
After 17 years on the watchlist of anti-narcotics agency, a 59-year-old drug baron Ogbonnaya Kevin has been unearthed by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) from his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos State.
The notorious baron was said to have hatched numerous plans that led to shipment of illicit drugs across the world, whose worth are put at billions of naira.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) detailed how operatives of its 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.
According to Marwa: “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. I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country.
“As we have said four years ago when we began the reform of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.
“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 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.”
While unmasking the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss said “Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad. His dossier indicates that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008. Despite this, he 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 Ogbonnaya Kevin Jeff 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 spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries.”
Marwa further gave insights into what investigations had unearthed about Ogbonnaya’s illicit trade activities. “On 5th October 2023, at a location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06 grams of skunk, concealed in dried chillies and jujube, to a Korean, Kim Dong Wook at a designated address in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The package arrived at Incheon Airport on 19th October 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

“Investigation reveals that while residing in Nigeria, he directed his drug couriers, Santa Elizabeth Pieterse and Carl Yohan Stephan Brisman, to smuggle a total of five kilograms of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights, between December 2023 and April 2024. In recent time alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4billion in street value to South Korea.
“Ogbonnoya maintains another domestic carrier, identified as “Asa”, who delivers for him drug consignments to a warehouse operated by Okori Emmanuel, a Nigerian who is his supply manager in South Korea. As of now, two arrest warrants have been issued against Ogbonnaya by the Seoul Central District Court in January and June 2024. These warrants charge him with importing narcotic drugs in violation of Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.”
Marwa assured of NDLEA’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations. “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. 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.”
NDLEA Arrest Worldwide Watchlisted Drug Baron with N1.4 billion Illicit Drugs
Crime
Gunmen Kidnap Several Individuals in Zangon Kataf LGA

Gunmen Kidnap Several Individuals in Zangon Kataf LGA
By: Zagazola Makama
Unidentified gunmen reportedly invaded a Fulani settlement (ruga) in Dusten Bako Village, Ikulu Chiefdom, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, on the night of April 3, 2025, at approximately 9:30 PM.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the attackers abducted an unspecified number of individuals, whisking them away to an unknown destination.
Upon receiving the distressing news, security forced, mobilized immediately to the scene to assess the situation.
Efforts to track down the perpetrators and ensure the safe rescue of the kidnapped victims are currently underway.
Gunmen Kidnap Several Individuals in Zangon Kataf LGA
Crime
Bandits Kill Father and Son, Abduct CPG Member in Zamfara

Bandits Kill Father and Son, Abduct CPG Member in Zamfara
By: Zagazola Makama
On April 4, 2025, a tragic incident occurred along the Bungudu-Duhuwa Road in Zamfara State, where a father and son, Garbati (Fnu) and his son Abubakar Babuga Garbati, were attacked and hacked to death by unknown assailants.
The attackers also stole their motorcycle. The police were promptly alerted, and the bodies were transported to the General Hospital Bungudu for autopsy before being released to their family for burial.
Later that same evening, around 1830hrs, a group of approximately 20 armed bandits ambushed members of the Community Police Guards (CPG) stationed at a checkpoint between Sauna and Gidan Kano along the Sokoto-Gusau highway.
The bandits overpowered the CPG, abducting one of their members, Asiru Dawa, and taking him to an undisclosed location.
The military forces have since launched an operation to track down the bandits and rescue the abducted CPG member.
Bandits Kill Father and Son, Abduct CPG Member in Zamfara
Crime
Two Killed in Suspected Militia Attack on Farmland in Taraba

Two Killed in Suspected Militia Attack on Farmland in Taraba
By: Zagazola Makama
The Taraba State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two young men in a suspected militia attack on a farmland in Wukari Local Government Area of the state.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred on Friday morning at about 7:30 a.m. at Mecapacynth area of Wukari, according to a report received from the Wukari Divisional Police Officer.
The sources said that the incident at about 8:30 a.m., stating that four attackers, one of them armed with an AK-47 rifle and suspected to be members of a Tiv militia group, opened fire on the victims while they were working on the farm.
The victims, identified as Masandi Moses Bulus, 21, and Mikhima Moses Basungyu, 19 – both of Jukun ethnic group – sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Security forces swiftly moved to the scene, took photographs, and evacuated the victims to the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari, where they were confirmed dead by medical personnel.
Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack.
Meanwhile, security operatives have been deployed in the area and are working with community leaders and relevant stakeholders to calm tensions and prevent further escalation.
Two Killed in Suspected Militia Attack on Farmland in Taraba
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