The agency seized 184.50kg of cocaine and arrested alleged Nigerian cartel coordinator Afolabi Kazeem Michael at Lagos airport
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dismantled an alleged international cocaine trafficking cartel that used Nigeria as a transit point to move narcotics to the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, seizing 184.50kg of cocaine and arresting its suspected Nigerian coordinator.
Also read: NDLEA arrests 80, clears 16 drug joints in Kano
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed the development in Lagos on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, describing the operation as one of the agency’s most significant investigations in recent times.
The operation also led to the arrest of Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known online as “KC Luxury”, who the agency identified as the alleged Nigerian arrowhead of the syndicate.
According to Marwa, the N39bn cocaine cartel was hoping to generate as much as N39 billion from the seized consignment through its international distribution network.
The investigation began after NDLEA operatives intercepted 184.50kg of cocaine concealed in a shipment being prepared for onward export through a courier logistics company in Lagos.
Marwa said the size of the seizure prompted him to establish a Special Investigation Team to trace the shipment beyond the immediate couriers and identify the individuals allegedly coordinating the wider network.
“The cartel was hoping to realise as much as N39 billion from the consignment through their international distribution network,” Marwa said.
Working with the management of the courier company involved, investigators reportedly traced the shipment through intermediary companies and individuals, leading to the arrest of key suspects.
One of those arrested was Lawal Mujab Kehinde, an employee of the logistics company through which the cocaine was processed.
Marwa said investigators established that Kehinde had maintained a direct relationship with the cartel’s alleged Nigerian coordinator and had processed and routed consignments to the UK, other parts of Europe and Asia in return for cash payments.
The second major suspect was Afolabi, whom the agency identified as the alleged coordinator of the Nigerian end of the operation.
The NDLEA said Afolabi presented himself publicly as a businessman and social media influencer involved in gold, jewellery and luxury goods, but allegedly used that image to conceal his involvement in an international cocaine trafficking network.
Investigators reportedly linked the network to a supply chain stretching from South America through Nigeria to destinations in Europe and Asia.
Afolabi was arrested at the boarding gate of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on August 13, shortly before he was allegedly due to leave Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris.
According to Marwa, the suspect was found carrying €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000 in cash, alongside expensive jewellery.
A subsequent search of his luxury apartment in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, reportedly resulted in the recovery of exotic vehicles.
The NDLEA also alleged that the cartel employed false identities to disguise the actual consignors of drug shipments and relied on financial facilitators who moved billions of naira on its behalf.
Marwa said investigators had also established links between the Nigerian network and suspected members in the UK, some of whom had reportedly been arrested by British authorities in connection with the same cartel.
The latest operation adds to a series of recent NDLEA investigations targeting transnational drug networks operating through Nigeria.
Marwa cited the agency’s dismantling of the Switzerland-based Simon Amadi cartel, which allegedly used dark-web marketplaces to launder millions of dollars, as well as operations against Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine syndicates operating clandestine laboratories in forests in Ogun and Oyo states.
He said traffickers were increasingly looking beyond traditional routes such as seaports and airports as scrutiny intensified, turning instead to courier and logistics companies that they allegedly considered less closely monitored.
The development highlights the growing importance of intelligence-led investigations in tracing drug networks beyond the physical seizure of narcotics.
Marwa said the latest operation demonstrated that luxury apartments, courier companies, airports and other seemingly legitimate environments could all form part of a trafficking network.
“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.
He added that the agency’s international partnerships had been critical to the investigation, pointing to near-simultaneous arrests of suspected cartel members in Nigeria and the UK.
Marwa commended the Special Investigation Team, coordinated by the Director of Operations and General Investigation, as well as international partners involved in the operation.
He warned individuals who attempt to conceal drug trafficking behind expensive lifestyles, luxury brands or social media popularity that the agency would continue pursuing 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,” Marwa said.
The suspects remain subject to the legal process, while investigations continue into other members of the alleged network, its financial channels and its international connections.
Also read: NDLEA busts major cocaine network, arrests KC Luxury in Lagos
The seizure of 184.50kg of cocaine is particularly significant because the NDLEA described it as the largest cocaine seizure made through a courier company in Nigeria, underlining the scale of the threat posed by alternative logistics channels to international drug trafficking.
Mariam Balogun is a contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
