Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have made significant strides in the fight against drug trafficking, arresting an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his business partner, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, for their attempts to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Chinedu, a frequent flyer involved in transporting goods between Turkey and Nigeria, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, upon his arrival at the Lagos airport. A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams. Investigations indicated that he had traveled from Turkey, transiting through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the illicit cargo from an accomplice before heading to Nigeria. Hunkarin was apprehended shortly after, waiting for Chinedu in the airport carpark.
In his statement, Hunkarin acknowledged his past as a professional footballer in Brazil but claimed he had only trafficked drugs twice in the past, asserting he had never brought any into Nigeria.
In further operations, Amen Okoro Godstime, another Europe-based businessman, was arrested on Friday, June 27, at MMIA while attempting to traffic 5,000 pills of tramadol disguised as malaria medications to Spain. Okoro was intercepted during passenger clearance for a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain via Casablanca, where he planned to transport the consignment to Italy.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, NDLEA agents intercepted Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a bar attendant from Maputo, Mozambique, on June 27. A search of his luggage uncovered 17 parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilograms, along with three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilograms. Emmanuel had traveled from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Addis Ababa.
Additionally, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar was arrested at AIIA after liquid cocaine, weighing 1.25 kilograms, was found concealed in a liquid soap container in his luggage. Kpodar had arrived from São Paulo, Brazil, and claimed to have purchased the substance for his wedding in Nigeria.
In separate incidents, NDLEA operatives also apprehended Vode Jean-Luck, a 26-year-old from Benin, at the Seme border for attempting to smuggle 69 balls of skunk weighing 29.5 kilograms into Nigeria. A notorious drug dealer, Mary Bolanle Oladele (aka Iya Nafi), was arrested in Kwara state, where various quantities of skunk and prescription drugs were recovered, as well as a 72-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Christy Ejaro, in Delta state found with sachets of skunk.
In a bid to combat drug abuse, NDLEA’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative has been actively conducting sensitization lectures across schools nationwide, including several in Katsina, Oyo, Abia, Enugu, Bayelsa, and Ekiti.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers involved in these operations, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to balance drug supply reduction with drug demand reduction across the country.