The Korean National Intelligence Agency’s Transnational Crime Information Centre announced the arrest of a Nigerian drug kingpin, K. Jeff, along with 36 other cartel members for drug smuggling.
The bust was the result of five years of collaborative intelligence work between the agency and Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Korean Times reported on Thursday.
The report revealed that the suspect was arrested and detained in Lagos for the said crime.
Jeff, previously convicted in Korea in 2007 for his role in drug trafficking, was sentenced to 12 months in prison before being deported to Nigeria the following year.
However, investigators later discovered that he had expanded his international drug network across Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, where he and his associates allegedly cultivated, manufactured, and distributed illicit drugs.
The report revealed that Jeff’s cartel used various deceptive tactics to smuggle drugs across borders, including romance scams.
The NIS cited a case in which a Korean woman in her 50s was tricked into transporting depilatory wax products, unaware that cocaine was hidden inside. She was caught while boarding a flight to Cambodia. At least, 10 Korean citizens were reportedly deceived into similar schemes.
The report stated, “To smuggle drugs across borders —the riskiest part of that business— scammers under Jeff used all sorts of tricks, including romance scams, to deceive people into doing the work.
“A Korean woman in her 50s was tricked last year into transporting depilatory wax products without knowing cocaine was concealed inside, the NIS said. She was caught on her way to a plane bound for Cambodia. About 10 Korean citizens were found to have been deceived into doing such work.”
The NIS launched an investigation into Jeff’s cartel in 2020, working with the prosecution, customs service, and police. By the following year, the NIS had identified cartel members in Korea attempting to smuggle drugs from Ghana.
Eventually, members of the cartel in Korea provided critical intelligence to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency officials, leading to the deployment of a team of investigators to Nigeria to help locate its headquarters.
