Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former professional footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and a businessman, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Chinedu, known for frequently traveling between Turkey and Nigeria with clothing and food items, was detained on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. NDLEA officers discovered 37 wraps of cocaine, weighing 800 grams, hidden in his carry-on luggage.
He had flown in from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines, transiting through Addis Ababa, where he picked up the bag from another individual. Upon arrival in Lagos, Chinedu was reportedly heading to meet Hunkarin at the airport carpark.
NDLEA officers located and arrested Hunkarin at the scene. In his statement, the former footballer, who previously played in Brazil, admitted to trafficking drugs twice between Brazil and Ethiopia, but claimed he had never brought any into Nigeria.
In another case, Europe-based businessman Amen Okoro Godstime was arrested on Friday, June 27, at MMIA. He was attempting to smuggle 5,000 tramadol pills, disguised as malaria medication, to Spain aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
Okoro, involved in freight and logistics between Europe and Nigeria, said he intended to travel onward to France and send the drugs to Italy for distribution.
NDLEA operatives also made several seizures in Enugu, Kwara and Delta States. At the Seme border in Lagos, they arrested a 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck. He was caught smuggling 69 cannabis balls (29.5kg) into Nigeria from Benin Republic on June 24.
