National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned Afolabi Kazeem Michael, popularly known as KC Luxury, and two others over alleged cocaine trafficking, illegal export of narcotics and money laundering.
Gatekeepers News reports that KC Luxury was arraigned alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos on a 22-count charge. All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case, marked FHC/LAG/CR/755/2026, centres on allegations that the defendants conspired between July 28 and August 1, 2026, to export 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine to London, United Kingdom, in five consignments sent through a Lagos-based courier logistics company.
The NDLEA alleged that the consignments were shipped under the name Yemi Ejide and carried five different airway bill numbers. It also accused the defendants of working with Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, who were arrested in London in connection with the alleged shipment.
One of the counts alleges that the defendants “conspired with the duo of Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf” to export the 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.
The agency further alleged that Sule procured Ekugo to facilitate the shipment, while KC Luxury allegedly procured a staff member of BOT Express Logistics on Lagos Island to process the consignments.
The NDLEA also accused KC Luxury of unlawfully possessing the cocaine before its intended export and alleged that N13.2 million was transferred from a Mallamawa Ventures account with Zenith Bank to BOT Express Logistics as payment for the shipment.
Sixteen of the 22 counts relate to alleged money laundering. The NDLEA accused KC Luxury of moving substantial sums through various companies and personal bank accounts and allegedly using some of the funds to acquire vehicles and landed properties in a bid to conceal their purported illicit origin.
The agency also alleged that KC Luxury failed to declare his assets as required by law.
The allegations followed the NDLEA’s seizure of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine from a courier company in Lagos in August. The agency had described the seizure as its largest cocaine recovery from a courier company.
KC Luxury was subsequently arrested on August 13 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to travel to Paris. The NDLEA said he was found with €7,750, £2,800 and N100,000, alongside expensive jewellery.
NDLEA chairman Buba Marwa had said the agency arrested KC Luxury after receiving intelligence that he was planning to leave the country.
“This cartel leader did not walk into our custody voluntarily,” Marwa said at the time.
He added: “To those who believe they can hide behind luxury brands, glamorous lifestyles, and social media personas while trafficking poison into our communities and across our borders, this Agency will find you.”
Following Friday’s arraignment, the prosecution opposed the defendants’ bail applications and asked the court to keep them in custody pending trial, citing the seriousness of the allegations. The court ordered that the three defendants be remanded in an NDLEA facility.
The court adjourned the case until October 4, 2026, for ruling on KC Luxury’s bail application.
