NDLEA arrests former footballer and others in Lagos and Enugu drug trafficking busts

Summary

• Ex-Nigerian international Segun George Hunkarin and partner caught with 22.6kg of cocaine at Lagos airport
• Europe- and Mozambique-based suspects intercepted with tramadol, methamphetamine, and liquid cocaine
• NDLEA intensifies crackdown on trafficking networks, with wider raids and border seizures underway

Abuja, Nigeria – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested former Nigerian international footballer Segun George Hunkarin and his business associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle 22.6 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The duo were apprehended on 24 June 2025. Chinedu, a regular traveller who frequently imports clothing from Turkey and exports foodstuffs from Nigeria, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives upon arrival on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Turkey. A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams, hidden among his belongings.

Following intelligence gathered during the interrogation, the agency swiftly moved to arrest Hunkarin in the airport’s car park. The ex-footballer, who previously played professionally in Brazil, reportedly confessed to trafficking drugs on two earlier occasions, specifically from Brazil to Ethiopia, but denied bringing drugs into Nigeria before now.

Both suspects remain in NDLEA custody, with ongoing investigations aimed at dismantling the broader trafficking network to which they allegedly belong.

In a related operation at the same airport three days later, on 27 June, NDLEA officials arrested Amen Okoro Godstime, a businessman based in Europe, for attempting to export 5,000 tablets of tramadol (225mg), disguised as malaria medication such as Lonart and Amatem, to Spain.

Meanwhile, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, the NDLEA intercepted Mozambique-based bar attendant Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel with a significant haul of narcotics, 17.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3.05 kilograms of cocaine, ingeniously concealed in bedsheets. Another suspect on the same flight, Azu Follygan Kpodar, was found with 1.25 kilograms of liquid cocaine.

In total, authorities recovered 22.6 kilograms of illicit drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, tramadol, and liquid narcotics, from the operations conducted at the Lagos and Enugu airports.

These high-profile arrests are part of a sweeping national crackdown by the NDLEA on drug trafficking syndicates. Recent weeks have also seen raids in Delta, Kwara, and Lagos states, as well as the seizure of 29.5 kilograms of skunk at the Seme border.

Although specific proposals by stakeholders were not detailed in the available sources, public reaction on social media and in national reports indicates growing support for tougher enforcement and expanded efforts to curb transnational drug crime. The agency’s intensified focus on dismantling organised trafficking rings underscores what it describes as a renewed commitment to national security and public health.