A former Nigerian footballer has been arrested alongside four others over cocaine at Lagos Airport.
Newsone Nigeria reports that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a former international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, alongside four others, over their involvement in drug trafficking operations that led to the seizure of 22.6 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine at Lagos and Enugu airports.
A statement issued by the Sunday by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, said Hunkarin and his alleged accomplice, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, following the discovery of concealed cocaine in Chinedu’s carry-on luggage.
Chinedu, who was returning from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight with a stopover in Addis Ababa, had in his possession 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams, reportedly handed to him in transit.
Known as a frequent flyer who routinely transports clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, Chinedu was arrested first upon his arrival at the Lagos airport on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
On the other hand, the former Nigerian footballer was apprehended in the airport’s car park while allegedly waiting to collect the consignment.
The NDLEA spokesman disclosed that the investigation revealed Chinedu arrived from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight, having transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another individual before proceeding to Nigeria.
Further checks uncovered that his accomplice, former professional footballer Segun Hunkarin, was waiting at the airport car park to collect the consignment. Hunkarin, who had spent years playing football for clubs in Brazil, was swiftly tracked and arrested at the scene.
“Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria. Further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport car park to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin, who had stayed for years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was promptly tracked and arrested at the car park.
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 had never brought any to Nigeria.
