A Nigerian social media influencer has been arrested after authorities seized 184.5kg of cocaine worth nearly $28 million and allegedly destined for the United Kingdom.
Afolabi Kazeem Micheal, popularly known as “KC Luxury,” was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos while attempting to board a business-class flight to Paris, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said.
The 49-year-old, who has about 700,000 followers on Instagram, reportedly portrays himself online as a businessman involved in gold and luxury goods.
According to the NDLEA, Micheal was allegedly the Nigerian “arrowhead” of an international drug trafficking network moving cocaine from South America through Nigeria to Europe and Asia.
The agency said the cocaine was discovered on Monday, August 3, concealed in brown boxes at a courier facility in Lagos.
It alleged that the shipment was part of the activities of an international trafficking network that had used Nigeria as a transit point for years to move illicit drugs to the UK, other European countries and Asia.
Ten days after the seizure, NDLEA operatives arrested Micheal at the airport after receiving intelligence that he was planning to leave Nigeria.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency moved swiftly to prevent the suspect from fleeing the country.
“Upon credible intelligence that he intended to flee the country, our operatives moved decisively and apprehended him at the boarding gate,” Marwa said.
The agency said Micheal was found with more than $12,840 in cash in three currencies — euros, pounds and naira — as well as expensive jewellery which it described as being consistent with proceeds allegedly linked to illicit activities.
Another suspect, 33-year-old Lawal Mujab Kehinde, was also arrested. The NDLEA alleged that Kehinde worked for a logistics company used to transport the cocaine and was responsible for packaging the drugs for export.
The agency further alleged that Kehinde was paid in cash for his role.
According to the NDLEA, other suspected members of the trafficking network have also been arrested in the UK by law enforcement authorities there.
Micheal and Kehinde have not publicly commented on the allegations and had not been charged in court at the time of the announcement.
Marwa said the arrests underscored the importance of international cooperation in tackling transnational drug trafficking, adding that the agency would continue to pursue other members of the network.
“We will track you to the departure gates if we must,” he said at a news conference in Lagos.
