NIGERIA: Ex-International Footballer, Four Others Arrested Over Cocaine at MMIA

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria,

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, and his associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, Chinedu, a businessman who frequently travels between Turkey and Nigeria, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, upon arrival at the airport.

A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams. Investigations indicated that Chinedu collected the package during a stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before arriving in Nigeria aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Further investigations led to the arrest of Hunkarin at the airport car park, where he had reportedly been waiting to receive the consignment.

The statement reads: “Further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Segun Hunkarin, 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.”

In his statement, Hunkarin, who once played professional football in Brazil, admitted to trafficking drugs from Brazil to Ethiopia on two previous occasions, but denied bringing drugs into Nigeria before.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport on Friday, June 27, the statement furthere revealed that NDLEA operatives arrested a Europe-based businessman, Amen Okoro Godstime, while attempting to smuggle 5,000 tablets of tramadol 225mg.

The drugs were concealed as common malaria medications such as Lonart, Amatem, and Aluktem. Okoro, who operates a freight and logistics business, was intercepted while boarding a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain via Casablanca. He reportedly intended to transport the consignment to Italy for distribution.

The statement further revealed: “Okoro who is into freight and logistics business between Europe and Nigeria claimed that on his arrival in Spain, he would to a train to France where he resides and from there send the tramadol consignment to Italy for retailing.”

At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, NDLEA officers arrested a Maputo-based bar attendant, Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, on Friday, June 27. A search of his luggage uncovered 17 parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.5 kilograms and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilograms. The illicit drugs were concealed in bedsheets.

Another passenger from the same flight, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, was also arrested. A plastic container of liquid soap found in his luggage tested positive for liquid cocaine, weighing 1.25 kilograms. Kpodar, a toy seller based in São Paulo, Brazil, claimed he purchased the substance while preparing for his wedding in Nigeria.

At the Seme border in Lagos, a 26-year-old Beninese national, Vode Jean-Luck, was arrested on Tuesday, June 24, while attempting to smuggle 69 wraps of cannabis (skunk) weighing 29.5 kilograms into Nigeria from the Benin Republic.

In Kwara State, NDLEA operatives apprehended a known drug dealer, Mary Bolanle Oladele, also known as “Iya Nafi,” in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area, on Wednesday, June 25. Quantities of skunk, tramadol, and flunitrazepam were recovered from her residence.

In Delta State, a 72-year-old woman, Mrs. Christy Ejaro, was arrested at Niger CAT area of Warri on Tuesday, June 24, with several sachets of skunk packaged for retail.

Meanwhile, NDLEA’s advocacy activities under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative continued nationwide.

“Awareness lectures were delivered to students and staff at several schools, including Yakubawa Model Primary School, Katsina; Police Secondary School, Igboora, Oyo; Divine Favour International School, Abia; Command Day Secondary School, Ibadan; Mater Dei College, Enugu; Community Girls Secondary School, Bayelsa; and Fiyinfolu High School, Ekiti,”, the statement buttressed.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers at MMIA, AIIA, and in Delta, Kwara, and Seme Commands for their efforts, urging continued diligence in both drug supply and demand reduction.