The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confirmed the arrest of former international footballer Segun George Hunkarin and his business partner, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Chinedu, known for frequently shuttling between Nigeria and Turkey, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, upon arriving at the Lagos airport. A search of his carry-on bag led to the discovery of 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams. Investigations revealed that he had arrived from Turkey via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight and collected the drugs from another individual during his transit.
Hunkarin was found waiting at the airport car park to receive the consignment and was immediately apprehended. He later confessed to previously trafficking drugs between Brazil and Ethiopia during his football career in South America but denied ever bringing drugs into Nigeria.
In a separate operation at the same airport, NDLEA officers arrested Europe-based businessman Amen Okoro Godstime on Friday, June 27. He was caught attempting to traffic 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 via Casablanca. Okoro claimed he planned to travel by train to France before shipping the drugs to Italy for distribution.
Also on June 27, NDLEA operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu intercepted Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a bar attendant based in Mozambique. He was found in possession of 17 parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilograms and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilograms, concealed in bed sheets. The drugs were discovered during a routine check after he arrived from Johannesburg via Addis Ababa.
Another passenger on the same flight, Azu Follygan Kpodar, a 54-year-old toy seller from São Paulo, Brazil, was caught with 1.25 kilograms of liquid cocaine hidden in a plastic container labeled as liquid soap. He claimed to have bought the substance while shopping for his upcoming wedding in Nigeria.
Elsewhere, NDLEA officers at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, arrested a 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck, on June 24 for attempting to smuggle 69 balls of cannabis (skunk) into Nigeria. The drugs weighed a total of 29.5 kilograms.
In Kwara State, a raid led to the arrest of notorious drug dealer Mary Bolanle Oladele, known as “Iya Nafi,” on June 25 at her base in Omu-Aran. Various quantities of skunk, Tramadol, and Flunitrazepam were recovered from the location.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives apprehended a 72-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Christy Ejaro, on June 24 in the Niger CAT area of Warri. Several retail sachets of skunk were seized from her.
