Nigeria: Influencer arrested after 184 kilos of cocaine seized

The Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced the arrest of an influencer suspected of involvement in an international drug trafficking network, after authorities seized 184.5 kilograms of cocaine destined for the United Kingdom from the megacity of Lagos.

The NDLEA indicated on its website on Tuesday that Afolabi Kazeem Michael was arrested at Lagos airport (southwest Nigeria) as he tried to flee to Paris, after authorities intercepted 184.5 kilograms of cocaine that his network was trying to ship via a parcel delivery company.

With over 500,000 followers on Instagram, Mr. Michael, known by the pseudonym "KC Luxury", presented himself on social media as a jewelry seller and influencer.

In recent years, West Africa has become a transit zone for drugs shipped from South America to Europe, primarily cocaine.

With an estimated retail value of 39 billion naira (approximately 25 million euros), according to the agency, the seizure constitutes the "largest cocaine seizure ever made at a courier company in Nigeria," said NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi in a statement.

Mr. Michael is believed to be the Nigerian "leader" of a South American cartel that uses Nigeria as a transit hub to "the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe and Asia", according to the NDLEA.

An employee of the parcel delivery company, Lawal Mujab Kehinde, along with several other people, were also arrested for their alleged involvement in this case.

Ports in West Africa have become popular transit points for cocaine shipments destined for Europe. However, some of these drugs are sold on local markets.

The head of the NDLEA, Mohammed Buba Marwa, a former army general, said that traffickers are increasingly using courier delivery companies to transport their goods, hoping to take advantage of "an easier and less monitored way to move narcotics across international borders".

The influencer's arrest comes after the discovery in May of the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever identified in the country, located in a remote forest in the southwest. Nine suspects, including three Mexican nationals, were arrested at that time.

Authorities fear that Mexican cartels have established links in Nigeria to produce methamphetamine and export it.