In a dramatic anti-narcotics bust, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested former Nigerian international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and a Lagos-based businessman, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over a foiled attempt to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The NDLEA, in a statement released on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, confirmed that the arrest was part of a coordinated intelligence-led operation targeting transnational drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s busiest airport.
Chinedu, a frequent international traveller known for importing clothes from Turkey and exporting local food items in return, was intercepted by NDLEA officers on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, shortly after disembarking from an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Turkey via Addis Ababa.
During a meticulous search of his hand luggage, operatives uncovered 37 wraps of cocaine carefully concealed in the lining of his bag. The illicit substance, weighing 800 grams, was discovered to have been handed over to him during his layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by an unnamed accomplice.
As investigations deepened, NDLEA operatives tracked down Chinedu’s alleged partner-in-crime, Segun Hunkarin, who was waiting in a vehicle at the airport car park to receive the drug consignment. Hunkarin, once celebrated for his football career in Brazil, now finds himself facing serious narcotics charges.
In a startling confession, Hunkarin admitted that he had previously trafficked drugs “twice from Brazil to Ethiopia”, though he claimed he had “never brought any into Nigeria”—a claim NDLEA officials are treating with caution.
This latest interception underscores the NDLEA’s unrelenting war on drug trafficking, especially the growing trend of using seemingly legitimate travellers and celebrities to peddle narcotics.
The agency says further investigations are underway to dismantle the wider network and bring all those involved to justice.
The NDLEA has once again sent a strong message to traffickers: no amount of fame or front can shield anyone from the long arm of the law.
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