NDLEA Nabs Ex-footballer, Four Others For Smuggling Cocaine

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, in connection with an attempted cocaine smuggling operation through Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

According to a statement released on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Chinedu, a frequent traveler known for transporting goods between Turkey and Nigeria, was apprehended on Tuesday, June 24, upon arriving from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines.

A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams concealed inside. Preliminary investigations by the NDLEA indicated that Chinedu had picked up the consignment during a layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Hunkarin, a former professional footballer with extensive experience playing in Brazil, was found waiting in the airport parking lot to receive the illicit package and was consequently arrested. In a statement to investigators, Hunkarin admitted to previous drug trafficking activities while in South America, noting that he had transported drugs from Brazil to Ethiopia on two occasions. However, he claimed that he had never brought drugs into Nigeria.

In a separate operation at the same airport, NDLEA operatives arrested a Europe-based businessman, Amen Okoro Godstime, on Friday, June 27. Okoro was caught attempting to export 5,000 pills of Tramadol (225mg) disguised as malaria medication under various brand names, including Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem.

He was intercepted at Terminal 2 while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain via Casablanca. Okoro explained to officials that he intended to take a train to France before shipping the drugs to Italy for retail distribution.

At Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, two passengers arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Johannesburg via Addis Ababa were arrested on Friday, June 27, for attempting to smuggle drugs into Nigeria. Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a 38-year-old bar attendant based in Mozambique, was found with 17 parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilograms and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilograms, hidden in bed sheets.

Another passenger on the same flight, Azu Follygan Kpodar, 54, was caught with a container of liquid soap labeled “YPE,” which tested positive for liquid cocaine weighing 1.25 kilograms. Kpodar, a toy merchant based in São Paulo, Brazil, claimed he had purchased the substance during wedding preparations in Nigeria.

Additionally, in the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested a 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck, on June 24, while he was attempting to smuggle 69 balls of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, into Nigeria. The total weight of the consignment was 29.5 kilograms.

In Kwara State, a suspected drug dealer known as Mary Bolanle Oladele, or “Iya Nafi,” was arrested on Wednesday, June 25, during a raid in Omu-Aran, Irepodun LGA. Officers recovered various quantities of skunk, Tramadol, and Flunitrazepam from her residence.

In a related operation in Delta State, a 72-year-old woman named Christy Ejaro was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, in the Niger CAT area of Warri. Several sachets of skunk, packaged in retail sizes, were seized from her. The agency stated that all suspects remain in custody pending further investigations and prosecution.