The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, and two other accomplices, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a 22-count charge bordering on cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering. The defendants were accused of conspiring to export 184.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics firm to London, United Kingdom.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all counts when the charges were read to them. The charge sheet accuses Afolabi, alongside Boniface and Ikechukwu, of conspiring with Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, already arrested in London in connection with the same case, to export the narcotic drug using consignments bearing specific Airway Bill Numbers.
The charge sheet details how Boniface procured Ikechukwu to facilitate the export, while Afolabi is accused of procuring a staff member of BOT Express Logistics on Lagos Island to process the illicit consignment, and of unlawfully possessing the cocaine ahead of export. Afolabi is also linked to the payment of N13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures Zenith Bank account to BOT Express Logistics as consideration for the shipment.
The NDLEA also accused Afolabi of funnelling several billions of naira through a web of companies and personal accounts, including Mallamawa Ventures, Fateey Man Multi-Purpose Nig. Ltd, Patonifa Ltd, Ade-Lak Resources, Holmestas Global Services Limited, La Capital Enterprises and others, with the funds used to acquire motor vehicles and various landed properties, in a bid to conceal the true origin of the proceeds of the illicit trade.
Afolabi, who paraded himself online as a luxury goods dealer and lifestyle influencer, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on the night of 13th August 2026 as he attempted to flee Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following the interception of the 184.5kg cocaine consignment estimated to be worth about N39 billion.
A subsequent search of him and his Banana Island apartment led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, foreign currency and jewellery believed to be proceeds of the illicit trade. The NDLEA prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, opposed the bail application, praying the court to remand the defendants in a correctional facility pending trial, citing the gravity of the offences.
Justice Faji thereafter ordered that the defendants be remanded in the Agency’s facility, and adjourned the matter till 4th October 2026 for ruling on the bail application. The case has raised concerns about the increasing involvement of high-profile individuals in Nigeria's illicit drug trade.
Key points
- The defendants were accused of conspiring to export 184.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics firm to London, United Kingdom.
- Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on the night of 13th August 2026 as he attempted to flee Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris.
- The NDLEA also accused Afolabi of funnelling several billions of naira through a web of companies and personal accounts to acquire motor vehicles and various landed properties.
