The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former Nigerian international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his associate, Ntoruka Chinedu, for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Chinedu, a regular traveller known for importing clothes from Turkey and exporting local goods from Nigeria, was arrested on June 24 after arriving from Turkey via Ethiopian Airlines. NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said a search of Chinedu’s luggage uncovered 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grammes, which he had allegedly collected in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Further investigation led to the arrest of Hunkarin, who was waiting in the airport car park to collect the drug. The former footballer, who once played professionally in Brazil, admitted to trafficking drugs in the past between Brazil and Ethiopia but claimed this was his first time getting involved in a deal linked to Nigeria.
In a separate case, NDLEA operatives arrested Europe-based businessman Amen Okoro Godstime on June 27 at Lagos airport while trying to smuggle 5,000 tramadol tablets disguised as malaria drugs. He was boarding a Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain, with plans to move the drugs to Italy through France.
Also on June 27, two drug traffickers were caught at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu. One of them, 38-year-old bar attendant Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, was found with 17.5kg of methamphetamine and 3.05kg of cocaine hidden in bedsheets. He arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa.
The second, 54-year-old Azu Follygan Kpodar, a toy seller based in São Paulo, Brazil, was arrested with 1.25kg of liquid cocaine concealed in a soap bottle. He claimed he bought the drugs while shopping for his wedding in Nigeria.
In Badagry, NDLEA officers at the Seme border arrested a 26-year-old Beninese man, Vode Jean-Luck, for attempting to bring 29.5kg of skunk (a potent form of cannabis) into Nigeria.
The agency also raided the home of a well-known drug dealer, Mary Bolanle Oladele, a.k.a. “Iya Nafi,” in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, seizing quantities of skunk, tramadol, and flunitrazepam.
In another raid, a 72-year-old grandmother, Christy Ejaro, was arrested on June 24 in Warri, Delta State, with several sachets of skunk already packed for sale.
NDLEA says it will continue to intensify efforts to curb drug trafficking and protect communities from the harmful effects of drug abuse.
