Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NAFDAC) have arrested an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his businessman partner, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,(MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.
The partner, who is a frequent flyer known for conveying clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested.
Chinedu was arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport on June 24, 2025.
A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800grams were concealed therein.
Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an 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 Hunkarin, an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, 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.
In his statement, Hunkarin claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia, but has never brought any to Nigeria.
