The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his businessman partner, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The NDLEA said Chinedu, a frequent flyer known for conveying clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested upon arriving at the Lagos airport on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
The spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said, “A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800grams, which were concealed therein.
“Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on Ethiopian Airlines flight, but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.
” Further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin, who had stayed for years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was promptly tracked and arrested at the car park.”
In his statement, Hunkarin claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but has never brought any to Nigeria,” the NDLEA added.
Also, the NDLEA arrested another Europe-based businessman, Amen Okoro Godstime, on Friday, June 27, at the Lagos airport while attempting to traffic 5,000 pills of tramadol 225mg packaged as known malaria drugs such as Lonart, Amatem and Aluktem to Spain.
He was intercepted at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the airport during the outward clearance of passengers on Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain through Casablanca.
Okoro, who is in the freight and logistics business between Europe and Nigeria, claimed that on his arrival in Spain, he would board a train to France, where he resides, and from there, send the tramadol consignment to Italy for retailing.
Meanwhile, a 72-year-old grandma Mrs. Christy Ejaro was on Tuesday, June 24, arrested by NDLEA operatives at Niger CAT area of Warri, Delta State with several sachets of skunk packaged in retail size.
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