Nigeria influencer arrested after seizure of cocaine worth $28m destined for the UK

A Nigerian social media influencer suspected of links to a global drug trafficking network has been arrested after the authorities seized cocaine worth nearly $28m (£21m) destined for the UK.

Afolabi Kazeem Micheal was detained at an airport in Lagos last week as he prepared to board a flight to Paris, Nigeria's drug enforcement agency said.

The 49-year-old, known as "KC Luxury" to his 700,000 Instagram followers, presented himself online as a businessman dealing in gold and luxury goods.

Officials allege he was the Nigerian "arrowhead" of a cartel trafficking cocaine from South America through Nigeria to Europe and Asia. Micheal has not commented on the allegations or been charged in court.

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said 184.5kg of cocaine was found concealed in brown boxes at a courier facility in Lagos on Monday 3 August.

The agency said it was being exported by an international trafficking network that for years had used Nigeria as a transit hub to move drugs to the UK, other parts of Europe and to Asia.

Micheal was arrested 10 days later at Lagos's Murtala Mohammed International Airport as he attempted to leave the country on a business-class flight to the French capital.