By IBIRONKE ARIYO

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted 59-year-old alleged drug baron, in his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos over N1.4billion worth of seized illicit drugs.

The NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, made this known while addressing newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

Marwa said that the suspected drug dealer?s arrest came after 17 years of hiding to ship illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the world.

The NDLEA boss detailed how operatives of the agency?s ?Special Operations Unit? had been on the trail of the suspect.

This, he said, followed an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

According to Marwa, the major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who?s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation.

?I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country.

?As we said four years ago when we began the reform of the NDLEA, our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.

?On Feb.12, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of the suspect in his hideout in Lagos.

?He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest.

?As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his activities, and incontrovertible facts that he is a notorious drug lord who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

?Our records reveal that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him.

?Furthermore, we have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods.

?Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas.

?Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house,? he said.

While unmasking the suspect?s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss said: ?the suspect is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad?.

Marwa said that his dossier indicated that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008.

He, however, added that in spite of this, the suspect continued his illicit trade, remaining actively involved in drug trafficking operations to the Far East.

?Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices.

?An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024.

?From a series of interdictions, it has been established that the suspect is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People?s Republic of Korea.

?He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate.

?They are spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries,? he said.

The NDLEA boss further gave insights into what investigations had unearthed about Ogbonnaya?s illicit trade activities.

According to him, On Oct. 5, 2023, at a location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06g 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 Oct. 19, 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

?Investigation reveals that while residing in Nigeria, he directed his drug couriers, to smuggle a total of 5kg of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights, between December 2023 and April 2024.

?In recent time alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4billion in street value to South Korea.

?He maintains another domestic courier, who delivers for him drug consignments to a warehouse operated by another suspect, a Nigerian who is his supply manager in South Korea.

?As of now, two arrest warrants have been issued against the suspect 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,? he maintained.

The NDLEA Chairman assured Nigerians of the agency?s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations.

?We will continue our relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with our mandate to safeguard public health and national security.

?The arrest of this suspect is therefore an affirmation of our resolve to work with our international partners.

?This is to ensure no drug baron finds Nigeria a comfort zone to distribute illicit substances within the country or traffic them to other countries,? he said. (NAN)

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