Nigerian Kingpin Arrested Again for Cocaine Smuggling

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Tuesday announced that it had arrested Christian Ogbuji at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos when he attempted to smuggle drugs into the country after coming from Uganda via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

According to the NDLEA, the suspect initially approached the joint examination table carrying a black travel bag, which was searched and cleared by an NDLEA officer. In a suspicious move, Ogbuji later returned to the carousel to slip a black backpack, which he had left on the conveyor belt, into the cleared bag.

During a second, unexpected search, NDLEA officers discovered large wraps of secreted cocaine hidden in the backpack, which was concealed in the black travel bag initially released by authorities.

“A total of 817 pellets of cocaine were recovered by many traffickers in Addis Ababa, weighing 19.40 kilograms, belonging to various drug cartel members,” NDLEA said.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi stressed that Ogbuji is considered an “unrepentant kingpin” within a network of drug cartels that operates across West Africa and includes Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria and several other countries including Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast, connects each other. Coast.

Ogbuji’s arrest comes just 16 months after his previous conviction for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine in 2023.

Following his arrest last year, Ogbuji was arraigned at the Federal High Court 12 in Abuja and sentenced to two years in prison. However, instead of serving a prison sentence, he opted to pay a fine of 3 million Nigerian Naira ($1,807), forfeiting the seized cocaine, his international passport and a small sum of cash.

A recent report from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shows that Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country with more than 200 million people – has transformed in recent years from a transit hub for drug trafficking gangs between South America and Europe, to an important consumer and distributor.