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A prominent Nigerian social media personality suspected of ties to an international narcotics distribution syndicate has been taken into custody following the interception of cocaine valued at roughly $28 million (£21 million) bound for the United Kingdom.
Afolabi Kazeem Micheal was apprehended at an airport located in Lagos last week while gearing up to board an outbound flight heading to Paris, according to statements from Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency.
The 49-year-old individual, recognized online by his 700,000 Instagram followers as “KC Luxury,” projected a digital persona of a legitimate entrepreneur trading in gold and high-end luxury items.
Investigators assert that he served as the principal Nigerian coordinator for a criminal network smuggling cocaine originating in South America through Nigerian transit points onward to European and Asian markets. Micheal has yet to issue a statement regarding these claims or face formal criminal charges in court.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed that 184.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered hidden inside brown packaging boxes at a courier distribution center in Lagos on Monday, August 3.
The agency indicated that the illicit shipment was handled by a transnational trafficking organization that has historically leveraged Nigeria as a corridor for routing narcotics toward the UK, wider European territories, and Asia.
Micheal was captured 10 days subsequent at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as he tried exiting the nation aboard a business-class flight directed toward the French capital.
NDLEA leader General Buba Marwa stated, “Upon credible intelligence that he intended to flee the country… our operatives moved decisively and apprehended him at the boarding gate… just as he attempted to escape the reach of the law.”
At the time of his detention, Micheal was found in possession of over $12,840 in physical cash spanning three distinct currencies—euros, British pounds, and Nigerian naira—alongside costly ornaments viewed as “consistent with the proceeds of his illicit trade,” authorities reported.
An additional individual taken into custody, Lawal Mujab Kehinde, is accused of operating as an employee within a courier logistics firm utilized to facilitate the movement of the cocaine cargo.
The 33-year-old was accused by the NDLEA of packaging the narcotics for export in exchange for cash compensation. Kehinde has likewise refrained from commenting publicly on the accusations or facing judicial charges.
Furthermore, the agency revealed that additional co-conspirators linked to the syndicate within the UK have been detained by foreign law enforcement partners operating abroad.
Marwa emphasized that the successful operations highlighted the effectiveness of cross-border intelligence sharing between global law enforcement bodies, pledging continued pursuit of remaining syndicate participants.
“We will track you to the departure gates if we must,” he declared during a media briefing held in Lagos.
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