Colombian authorities, working with the FBI, have arrested Joseph Chinedu Okparaejesi, a Nigerian national accused of leading a transnational dr¥g tr+fficking network. Okparaejesi, also known as “Alen,” was captured at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá after arriving from São Paulo, Brazil.
The arrest followed a lengthy investigation by Colombia’s Dijín (police intelligence unit) and the Attorney General’s Office. Okparaejesi, who had lived in Colombia for over 12 years, reportedly posed as a beauty industry businessman while secretly organizing large-scale c@caine shipments to Spain. Authorities say he financed dr¥g purchases and managed operations that used human couriers and specially designed suitcases with hidden compartments to sm¥ggle n+rcotics.
His arrest was reportedly aided by information from a detained dr¥g courier heading to Spain, who provided details about the network. As part of the crackdown, 15 other individuals linked to Okparaejesi’s operations have also been arrested.
Investigators found that Okparaejesi married a Colombian woman in 2012 and ran a hair extension business called “Nigeria African” near Ciudad de Cali Avenue. A close associate told El Tiempo that Okparaejesi rarely left Colombia, traveling to Africa only once every two years. “The last time we spoke, he told us he was in Ghana,” the associate said.
The Colombian National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) has confirmed his detention, and he faces formal charges of dr¥g tr+fficking, production, and distribution.
