The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former Nigerian international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and his business associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an alleged plot to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Chinedu was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, upon his arrival at the Lagos airport from Turkey via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A search of his carry-on bag led to the discovery of 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams.
Investigations revealed that Chinedu had received the drug-laden luggage from another individual during his layover in Addis Ababa. His accomplice, Hunkarin—who had spent several years playing professional football in Brazil—was arrested while waiting in the airport carpark to collect the consignment.
Hunkarin admitted in his statement that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his playing years but claimed this was his first attempt involving Nigeria.
In a separate case, the NDLEA also arrested Europe-based businessman Amen Okoro Godstime on June 27 at the Lagos airport. Okoro was allegedly attempting to smuggle 5,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg disguised as malaria medication such as Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem. He was intercepted while preparing to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain.
NDLEA said Okoro, who runs a freight and logistics business between Nigeria and Europe, intended to transfer the drugs to France and then to Italy for sale.
Meanwhile, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, a Mozambique-based bar worker, Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, was arrested after NDLEA officers found 17.5kg of methamphetamine and 3.05kg of cocaine hidden in bedsheets inside his luggage. Emmanuel had arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa.
Another passenger on the same flight, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, was also arrested. A container of liquid soap in his luggage was found to contain liquid cocaine after forensic analysis.
The agency said all suspects are currently in custody and undergoing further investigation.
