The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dismantled an international cocaine trafficking cartel allegedly using Nigeria as a transit hub to move illicit drugs to the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and Asia.

The agency also arrested the alleged Nigerian coordinator of the syndicate, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known online as “KC Luxury”, as he attempted to leave the country.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), disclosed the development while addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday.

Marwa described the operation as one of the agency’s most significant narcotics investigations in recent times, saying it resulted in the seizure of 184.50kg of cocaine, which he described as the largest cocaine seizure made through a courier company in Nigeria.

According to him, the investigation began after NDLEA operatives intercepted a consignment of cocaine concealed for export through a courier logistics channel in Lagos.

Following the seizure, Marwa said he directed the establishment of a Special Investigation Team to trace the network behind the shipment and identify those coordinating the operation.

He said the cartel was hoping to make as much as N39bn from the consignment through its international distribution network.

“The operation began with the interception of a consignment of 184.50 kilograms of cocaine concealed for onward export through a courier logistics channel in Lagos.

“Given the scale of the seizure, I immediately directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team, with a mandate to trace the entire network behind the shipment, from the couriers to the masterminds,” Marwa said.

Working with the management of the courier company involved, NDLEA operatives reportedly uncovered a network of intermediary companies and individuals allegedly used to process and move the consignments.

The investigation led to the arrest of two key suspects, including Lawal Mujab Kehinde, a staff member of the logistics company through which the cocaine was processed.

Marwa said Kehinde was found to have maintained a direct relationship with the cartel’s Nigerian coordinator and allegedly packaged and processed consignments for the syndicate for onward movement to the UK, Europe and Asia.

The second suspect, Afolabi, was identified by investigators as the alleged Nigerian arrowhead of the cartel.

According to Marwa, Afolabi operated publicly as a social media influencer and businessman dealing in gold, jewellery and luxury goods, allegedly using the lifestyle associated with his online persona to conceal his involvement in drug trafficking.

“Parading as a social media influencer and businessman dealing in gold, jewellery, and luxury goods, Afolabi used his glamorous public image to disguise a criminal enterprise moving cocaine along a pipeline stretching from South America, through Nigeria, to the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and Asia,” he said.

Marwa said Afolabi was arrested at the boarding gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on August 13, after intelligence indicated that he planned to leave Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris.

He was allegedly found in possession of €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000 in cash, as well as expensive jewellery.

A subsequent search of his luxury apartment on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, also led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, according to the NDLEA chairman.

The agency said further investigations revealed that the cartel allegedly used false identities to conceal the real consignors of its shipments and relied on financial facilitators to move billions of naira on its behalf.

Marwa also disclosed that the syndicate had criminal associates in the United Kingdom, some of whom had been arrested by British authorities in connection with the same cartel.

He linked the operation to other recent successes recorded by the agency against transnational drug networks, including the dismantling of the Switzerland-based Simon Amadi drug cartel, which allegedly laundered millions of dollars through dark-web marketplaces.

The agency has also recently targeted two Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine syndicates allegedly operating clandestine laboratories in forests in Ogun and Oyo states.

Marwa said the latest operation demonstrated that traffickers could no longer rely on luxury lifestyles, forests, ports or courier companies to conceal their activities.

“These operations send an unmistakable signal that this Agency’s reach extends into the ports, the forests, the luxury apartments, and the departure lounges alike, and that no sanctuary exists anywhere in Nigeria for those who traffic in poison,” he said.

The NDLEA boss noted that drug trafficking organisations were increasingly shifting from seaports and airports, where security scrutiny had intensified, to courier and logistics companies which they allegedly considered less monitored channels for transporting narcotics across international borders.

He, however, said the latest investigation showed that the agency had the capacity to detect and dismantle such networks regardless of the channels they used.

“There is no alternative route into or out of Nigeria for illicit drugs that this Agency cannot police,” Marwa stated.

Marwa also described the operation as a product of international cooperation, noting that suspected members of the cartel were arrested in Nigeria and the UK around the same period.

He commended the agency’s international partners and members of the Special Investigation Team, coordinated by the Director of Operations and General Investigation, for their role in uncovering the network.

The NDLEA chairman further warned individuals who allegedly use luxury brands, social media influence and glamorous lifestyles to conceal drug trafficking activities that the agency would continue to pursue them.

“To those who believe they can hide behind luxury brands, glamorous lifestyles, and social media personas while trafficking poison into our communities and across our borders, this Agency will find you,” he said.