NDLEA Nabs Ex-Footballer, Businessmen, and International Traffickers in Major Drug Busts Across Nigeria

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and his associate, Ntoruka Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria via Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

According to a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi on Sunday, Chinedu known for trading goods between Turkey and Nigeria was apprehended on Tuesday after arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Turkey with a layover in Addis Ababa. A search of his hand luggage revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams, which he had reportedly picked up in Ethiopia.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Hunkarin, a former professional footballer who spent years playing in Brazil. He was found waiting at the airport car park to receive the consignment. During interrogation, Hunkarin admitted to previously trafficking drugs from Brazil to Ethiopia on two occasions but denied ever bringing drugs into Nigeria.

In a separate incident, NDLEA operatives arrested Amen Okoro Godstime, a Europe-based businessman, at Lagos airport on Friday. Godstime was caught with 5,000 tablets of Tramadol (225mg), concealed in malaria drug packaging like Lonart and Amatem. He was apprehended while attempting to board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain, with plans to move the drugs to Italy via France.

Meanwhile, at Enugu’s Akanu Ibiam International Airport, NDLEA officers intercepted two traffickers on the same Ethiopian Airlines flight from Johannesburg via Addis Ababa.

• Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a 38-year-old bar attendant based in Mozambique, was caught with 17.5kg of methamphetamine and 3.05kg of cocaine hidden in bedsheets.
• Azu Follygan Kpodar, 54, a toy merchant from São Paulo, Brazil, was found with 1.25kg of liquid cocaine disguised in a plastic container of liquid soap. He claimed he bought the substance while shopping for his upcoming wedding in Nigeria.

Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives at the Seme border arrested Vode Jean-Luck, a 26-year-old Beninese national, for attempting to smuggle 69 balls of skunk cannabis—totaling 29.5k into Nigeria on June 24.

In Kwara State, a raid on Wednesday at the residence of a known drug dealer, Mary Bolanle Oladele (aka “Iya Nafi”), in Omu-Aran, led to the recovery of quantities of skunk, Tramadol, and Flunitrazepam.

And in Warri, Delta State, 72-year-old Christy Ejaro was arrested in the Niger CAT area with sachets of skunk packed for street sales.

These arrests highlight NDLEA’s ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking networks operating across Nigeria’s entry points and within its borders.