Ex-international footballer, partner arrested for cocaine smuggling at Lagos airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former international footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and his business partner, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an attempt to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, explained that Chinedu — known as a frequent traveller who regularly brings clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and exports foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey — was the first to be arrested on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.

During a search of his hand luggage at the Lagos airport, 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams were discovered, hidden inside.

Investigations revealed that Chinedu had flown into Nigeria from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight, transiting through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He had reportedly collected the illicit package from another individual in Addis Ababa before continuing to Lagos.

Further checks led to the arrest of his accomplice, Segun Hunkarin, a former professional footballer who previously played for clubs in Brazil. Hunkarin was waiting at the airport car park to receive the consignment when NDLEA operatives tracked and arrested him.