The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a former international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, alongside his business associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an alleged attempt to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
In a statement released on Sunday, June 29, 2025, by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, it was revealed that the businessman, Chinedu, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, upon arrival at the Lagos airport. A search of his carry-on luggage uncovered 37 wraps of cocaine, weighing a total of 800 grams, carefully concealed within the bag.
Further investigations revealed that Chinedu had arrived in Nigeria from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines, with a layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During his transit in Addis Ababa, he allegedly received the drug-laden bag from another individual before continuing his journey to Lagos. NDLEA operatives subsequently tracked his accomplice, Segun Hunkarin, who was reportedly waiting at the airport’s car park to receive the consignment. Hunkarin was promptly arrested.
The agency noted that Hunkarin, who previously played professional football in Brazil, confessed during interrogation that he had trafficked drugs on two previous occasions from Brazil to Ethiopia but insisted that this was his first attempt involving Nigeria.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives also arrested another suspect, identified as Amen Okoro Godstime, on June 27, at Terminal 2 of the same Lagos airport. Godstime, a Europe-based freight and logistics businessman, was allegedly attempting to smuggle 5,000 tablets of Tramadol (225mg) disguised as common malaria medications such as Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem. He was intercepted while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain via Casablanca. According to his statement, he intended to travel to France upon arrival in Spain, and then ship the illicit consignment to Italy for distribution.
Meanwhile, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, NDLEA agents made additional arrests involving drug trafficking. A 38-year-old bar attendant based in Maputo, Mozambique, Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, was intercepted after arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Upon searching his luggage, operatives discovered bedsheets concealing parcels of illicit substances—17.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3.05 kilograms of cocaine.
Also on the same flight was another suspect, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, who had traveled from São Paulo, Brazil. During a routine check, officers found a plastic container labeled “YPE” (commonly used for liquid soap) in his luggage. Subsequent forensic analysis by the NDLEA’s laboratory in Enugu confirmed the contents to be cocaine.
The NDLEA has reiterated its commitment to intensifying surveillance and enforcement operations at all entry and exit points across Nigeria to curb the smuggling of illicit drugs.
