The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and his associate, Ntoruka Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Chinedu, known for importing clothes from Turkey and exporting foodstuffs from Nigeria, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, after arriving from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines with a stopover in Addis Ababa. NDLEA operatives discovered 37 wraps of cocaine, weighing 800 grammes, in his hand luggage—allegedly collected in Ethiopia.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Hunkarin at the airport car park, where he had reportedly been waiting to receive the consignment. Hunkarin, who previously played professional football in Brazil, confessed to trafficking drugs twice between Brazil and Ethiopia but denied smuggling any into Nigeria.
In another operation, NDLEA officers apprehended Europe-based businessman, Amen Okoro Godstime, at Lagos Airport on Friday, June 27. Okoro attempted to smuggle 5,000 tablets of 225mg tramadol concealed in fake malaria drug packages such as Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem. He intended to transport the drugs to Italy via France on a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain through Casablanca.
At Enugu’s Akanu Ibiam International Airport, NDLEA intercepted two traffickers on 27 June. The first, 38-year-old bar attendant Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, arrived from Johannesburg via Addis Ababa and was found with 17.5kg of methamphetamine and 3.05kg of cocaine hidden in bedsheets.
The second suspect, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, flew in from São Paulo, Brazil. Officers discovered a plastic soap container in his luggage, which forensic analysis confirmed contained 1.25kg of liquid cocaine. Kpodar, a toy seller in Brinquedo, Brazil, claimed he bought the substance while preparing for his wedding in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, at Seme border in Badagry, operatives arrested 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck, on June 24 with 69 balls of skunk cannabis weighing 29.5kg.
In Kwara State, NDLEA raided the Omu-Aran residence of notorious dealer Mary Bolanle Oladele, alias “Iya Nafi,” on June 25, seizing various quantities of skunk, tramadol, and flunitrazepam.
In Delta State, the agency also arrested 72-year-old Christy Ejaro in the Niger CAT area of Warri on June 24 . Officers recovered sachets of skunk cannabis intended for street sales from the elderly woman.