The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned luxury goods dealer and lifestyle influencer, Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, alongside two alleged accomplices over the attempted export of 184.5kg of cocaine to the United Kingdom.
The defendants — Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch — were arraigned on Friday, September 25, 2026, before the Federal High Court in Lagos on a 22-count charge bordering on cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering.
They pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The NDLEA alleged that the trio conspired between July 28 and August 1, 2026, to export the cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics company to London.
According to the charge sheet, the consignments were shipped under the name Yemi Ejide and bore five airway bill numbers. The agency also linked the defendants to two other suspects, Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, who have been arrested in London over the same case.
The NDLEA further alleged that Afolabi paid ₦13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures Zenith Bank account to BOT Express Logistics for the shipment. It also accused him of laundering several billions of naira through companies and personal accounts and using proceeds allegedly derived from the illicit trade to acquire vehicles and landed properties.
Afolabi was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 13, 2026, while allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria on a business-class flight to Paris from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The arrest followed the interception of the cocaine shipment, which the agency valued at about ₦39 billion.
The agency said a subsequent search of Afolabi and his Banana Island apartment led to the recovery of exotic vehicles, foreign currency and jewellery allegedly linked to proceeds of the illicit trade.
Following the defendants’ not-guilty pleas, NDLEA prosecutor Abu Ibrahim opposed their bail applications and asked the court to remand them pending trial, citing the gravity of the alleged offences.
The court ordered the defendants to be remanded in NDLEA custody and adjourned the matter until October 4, 2026, for ruling on their bail applications.
