February 20, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
A 59-year-old Nigerian drug lord, Kelechi Jeff, has been arrested by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and local authorities for deceiving Koreans into smuggling drugs through romance scams and other schemes.
Jeff’s organization had a global reach, operating in multiple countries including Southeast Asia, Africa, Korea, America, and Europe, to distribute drugs or carry out scams.
The NIS revealed that victims, mostly deceived by romance scams or fake investment opportunities, were tricked into delivering backpacks, confectionary, or grocery items packed with drugs to other countries.
A Korean woman in her 50s was caught last year delivering shaving wax containing cocaine from Brazil to Cambodia via Korea, highlighting the organization’s sophisticated methods.
Jeff’s history with the law dates back to 2008 when he was deported from Korea while serving a one-year prison term for spearheading a drug circulation scheme.
Since then, he had been sourcing drugs in Korea, Central America, and Southeast Asia, smuggling them into Korea and beyond from Nigeria.
Korean authorities initially busted a Nigerian drug ring operating in Korea in 2021 for attempting to smuggle drugs from Ghana.
After a thorough investigation, they traced the operation back to Jeff, leading to his arrest.
The NIS has confiscated 45.6 kilograms of drugs from this organization, including 28.4 kg of methamphetamine, and arrested 38 members of the group.
The agency warned people about individuals who make online requests to deliver items overseas, saying, “Although I am on record to have stated after the election that Abiola may not have won the election, upon deeper reflection and a closer examination of all available facts, particularly the detailed election results… there was no doubt that MKO Abiola won the June 12 elections.”
