Drug trafficking has long been a menace in Nigeria and Africa as a whole— Western airport officials hate to see us coming.
In Africa, it has grown partly because West Africa became a major transit route for cocaine moving from South America to Europe.
Some pushers became infamous because of the scale of their operations, while others were known for running international trafficking networks. 
Apart from Ariket, here are five notorious drug traffickers and drug syndicate figures linked to Nigeria and Africa.
SEE ALSO: Who’s Ariket? The Businesses and Lifestyle of Lagos Socialite Sentenced for Trafficking Cocaine
1. Gloria Okon
Gloria Okon is one of Nigeria’s most controversial drug trafficking figures. She was arrested in 1985 for alleged heroin smuggling during the military era. During the Nigerian military era, death was the penalty for drug trafficking.
Before the 35-year-old could name her sponsor(s), she died after a few days in custody. Her mysterious death sparked conspiracy theories involving top military officials and drug trafficking networks in the country.
2. Kevin Jeff Ogbonnaya
Popularly known as Big Boss, Kingsley, or Padok, Ogbonnaya was sleek. The 59-year-old Nigerian drug baron was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on February 12, 2025, in Nigeria. According to the agency, Ogbonnaya had been on the run for 17 years.
They reported that he coordinated an international trafficking network moving illicit drugs. He moved drugs through Nigeria, South Korea, Ghana, Cameroon, and other African countries
Nations were after him. INTERPOL and South Korean intelligence reportedly pulled resources together to track him down.
3. Suleiman Babatunde Oba
On August 25, 2023, at 51, Oba was arrested over an attempt to export 25.10 kg of ephedrine to South Africa.
NDLEA described him as a notorious trafficker connected to a cartel distributing cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and ephedrine. The syndicate is distributed across Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.
4. Hakeem Babatunde Salami
Hakeem Babatunde Salami, according to the Punch, was the arrowhead of “Tajudeen Babatunde Abioye Transnational Criminal Organisation.”
The 54-year-old was involved in the illicit trade of several narcotics, including Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and Ephedrine. He moved these drugs between Nigeria, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Europe.
According to the NDLEA, he claimed he was into the importation of building materials from China to Nigeria. He used to sell gold in South Africa before delving into the illicit drug trade about two years ago.
5. Iyabo Olorunkoya
She was arrested in 1974 in the United Kingdom with 78 kg of marijuana. Olorunkoya was tried, found guilty and eventually convicted by the London court. Army brigadiers Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle and Brigadier Foluso Sotomi were linked to the scandal, although they claimed innocence and denied any affiliation with the crime.
Adekunle, a wartime hero and decorated officer of the Third Marine Commandos, was suspended from duty on because of this case, although his alleged role was not proved. While still on suspension, he never resumed his military career, as he was retired by the then head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon.
To date, Adekunle believed a “Adekunle must go” campaign was against him. Brig. Sotomi too was equally retired. Besides these army officers, one Shitta-Bey, a top legal adviser with the federal government, out of the public service was also apprehended. The issue that led to Shitta-Bey’s arrest was a letter reportedly found in Olorunkoya’s custody.
6. Kanmo-Kanmo
A notorious drug kingpin, Lekan Jimoh, known as “Kanmo-Kanmo”, has been arrested by Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in January 2026. This follows a twelve-year manhunt for his alleged involvement in the murder of three anti-drug agents in Ogun State.
The arrest occurred in Owode town during an intelligence-led operation, where operatives seized 69 kilogrammes of cannabis from him. Jimoh had been on the NDLEA’s most-wanted list since June 15, 2014, when he led an armed mob against agency officers attempting to apprehend him.
7. Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi
Once beaten, twice shy— but not for Ifeanyi. He decided to go harder.
Ifeanyi was 48 years old when he was arrested on September 18, 2024. This was barely 16 months after he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with the option of N3m fine for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine.
The unrepentant kingpin was again convicted for importing 817 wraps of the same cocaine weighing 19.40 kilograms with an estimated street value of N4,656,000,000.
Nigerian courts sentenced him alongside other traffickers in a high-profile narcotics case.
8. Monsurat Ashabi Oluwatoyin Abraham
What a man can do, a woman can do better.
Toyin Igbira, whose real name was Monsurat Ashabi Oluwatoyin Abraham, was a notorious Nigerian drug trafficker. She was known for running an international heroine network in the 1990s and 2000s.
She allegedly used textile trading as a cover for drug operations and became famous for her lavish lifestyle and influence in Lagos social circles.
Toyin Igbira was arrested multiple times by the NDLEA for heroin trafficking. She was linked to recruiting drug couriers for overseas smuggling. She died in 2019 after battling ovarian cancer.
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