Former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin and his three business partners, Emmanuel, Chinedu, and Ntoruka, have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking to reporters about their arrest, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said that Chinedu, a frequent traveller who transports clothing from Turkey to Nigeria and food from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first person arrested when he arrived at the Lagos airport on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. When his carry-on bag was searched, 37 wraps of cocaine totalling 800 grams were found hidden inside.
‘’Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria. Further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs was promptly tracked and arrested at the carpark.”he said.
According to him, Hunkarin said in his statement that he had only moved drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia while playing professional football in the South American nation, but he had never brought any to Nigeria.
On Friday, June 27, NDLEA agents detained Amen Okoro Godstime, a businessman from Europe, at the Lagos airport as he attempted to smuggle 5,000 pills of tramadol 225 mg, disguised as well-known malaria medications like Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem, into Spain. He was stopped at the airport’s terminal 2 departure hall while passengers were being cleared out of a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain via Casablanca.
Okoro, who works in freight and logistics between Europe and Nigeria, stated that after arriving in Spain, he would travel by train to France, where he lives, and then ship the shipment of tramadol to Italy for sale.
On Friday, June 27, NDLEA agents detained Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a bartender from Maputo, Mozambique, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu. Following a search of his luggage, three packages of cocaine weighing 3.050 kilograms and seventeen cardboard-sized packages of methamphetamine weighing 17.500 kilograms were found.
When the 38-year-old suspect was arrested and searched while travelling on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, illegal drugs hidden in bedsheets in his bags were found.
Another passenger on board the same Ethiopian Airlines flight, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, was also intercepted at the Enugu airport by NDLEA operatives. When Azu, who arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was searched, a liquid soap plastic container marked YPE, was discovered in his luggage. The substance was promptly taken for analysis at the NDLEA forensic and chemical laboratory, Enugu, where the substance tested positive for cocaine.
The weight of the substance, which was determined to be liquid cocaine, was 1.250 kg. The suspect, a toy vendor in Brinquedo, São Paulo, Brazil, stated that he bought the drug in Nigeria while he was shopping for his wedding.
