The Nigeria drug law enforcement agency has arrested a wanted 59-year old international drug baron, Ogbonnaya Jeff.
He was apprehended at his hideout in the Ojo area of Lagos after 17 years of evading authorities.
He exported 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 October 19, 2023, at 7:20 a.m. 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 times alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4 billion in street value to South Korea.
“Ogbonnaya maintains another domestic carrier, identified as ‘Asa,’ who delivers drug consignments to a warehouse operated by Okori Emmanuel, a Nigerian who serves as 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, however, reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations.
