An influencer has been arrested over his alleged links to an international cocaine trafficking network after almost 185kg of the drug was seized in a shipment reportedly destined for Britain.
Afolabi Kazeem Micheal, 49, known online as ‘KC Luxury’, was detained at an airport in Lagos after authorities allegedly linked him to the huge haul.
The cocaine was valued at almost £21M ($28M)and was intercepted at a courier facility in Lagos, according to Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as reported by Need To Know.
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Michael, who has around 700,000 Instagram followers, was arrested on August 13 as he was allegedly preparing to board a business-class flight to Paris.
The arrest came ten days after 184.5kg of cocaine was discovered concealed inside brown boxes at the courier facility.
Investigators allege the shipment was part of a wider operation moving cocaine from South America through Nigeria before it was sent on to the UK, Europe and Asia.
Micheal is accused by the NDLEA of being the Nigerian ‘arrowhead’ of the alleged international network.
Online, he presents himself as a businessman involved in gold, jewellery and luxury goods.
But investigators claim he had a very different role within the alleged trafficking operation.
NDLEA chairman Buba Marwa said officers moved to arrest Micheal after receiving intelligence that he was planning to leave the country.
He was allegedly intercepted at the airport boarding gate before he could board his flight.
Marwa said: “We will track you to the departure gates if we must.”
Officers also allegedly found more than $12,800 (£9,600) worth of cash in euros, pounds and Nigerian naira, along with expensive jewellery.
A second suspect, Lawal Mujab Kehinde, 33, has also been arrested.
He is alleged to have worked for the logistics company involved in moving the cocaine and to have helped package the drugs for export.
The NDLEA said the investigation has also uncovered alleged links to suspects overseas, with law enforcement agencies in the UK also making arrests connected to the wider network.
The agency has described the seizure as its largest cocaine interception involving a courier company.
Investigators believe the network had been using Nigeria as a transit point for cocaine destined for international markets.
The allegations against Micheal and Kehinde have not been tested in court, and neither has publicly commented on the claims.
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