A Nigerian social media influencer has been arrested in Lagos over his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking network following the seizure of cocaine estimated to be worth nearly $28 million and reportedly destined for the United Kingdom.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Afolabi Kazeem Micheal, 49, was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos as he attempted to board a business-class flight to Paris.
Micheal, who is known as “KC Luxury” on Instagram, has about 700,000 followers and reportedly presents himself online as a businessman involved in gold and luxury goods.
According to the NDLEA, investigators suspect Micheal of being a key figure in a drug trafficking network that allegedly moves cocaine from South America through Nigeria to Europe and Asia.
The agency said 184.5kg of cocaine was discovered concealed in brown boxes at a courier facility in Lagos on August 3.
The shipment was allegedly being prepared for export by an international trafficking network that had used Nigeria as a transit point for moving illegal drugs to the UK, other European countries and Asia.
Ten days after the cocaine seizure, NDLEA operatives arrested Micheal at the airport after receiving intelligence that he intended to leave Nigeria.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa said officers intercepted him at the boarding gate as he attempted to travel to France.
At the time of his arrest, the agency said Micheal was carrying more than $12,840 in euros, pounds and naira, as well as expensive jewellery which it alleged was linked to proceeds from illicit activities.
Another suspect, 33-year-old Lawal Mujab Kehinde, was also arrested. The NDLEA alleged that he worked for a logistics company used to transport the cocaine and helped package the drugs for export in exchange for cash.
The agency said investigations had also led to the arrest of other suspected members of the network in the United Kingdom by law enforcement authorities there.
Marwa said the arrests demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling organised drug trafficking and vowed that the agency would continue pursuing other members of the alleged network.
The suspects have not been convicted of the allegations, and Micheal and Kehinde have not publicly commented on the claims against them.
The case highlights Nigeria’s continued role in international efforts to disrupt cocaine trafficking networks using the country as a transit route to Europe and other destinations.
