Drug kingpin, ex-footballer jailed 24yrs for cocaine trafficking

A fugitive drug trafficker who spent nearly a decade on the run after jumping bail and a former professional footballer have been sentenced to a combined 24 years imprisonment for cocaine trafficking.

Security analyst, Zagazola Makama reported that Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos convicted the two men after finding them guilty of cocaine trafficking offences.

According to the report, the convicts, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and former international footballer Segun George Hunkarin, were found guilty of offences linked to the importation of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.

Makama reported that Chinedu was first arraigned in 2015 for importing 6.25 kilograms of cocaine but absconded after being granted bail, evading arrest for almost 10 years.

He was rearrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, while allegedly attempting to smuggle another 800 grams of cocaine into the country aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

Investigations, according to the report, revealed that Chinedu collected the drug consignment during a stopover in Addis Ababa after travelling from Turkey.

The report added that NDLEA operatives also arrested Hunkarin at the airport car park, where he was allegedly waiting to receive the cocaine shipment.

During interrogation, Hunkarin reportedly admitted he trafficked illicit drugs on two occasions while playing professional football in Brazil.

Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years imprisonment for the 2015 cocaine importation case and an additional 2 years for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the 800-gram consignment, bringing his total jail term to 22 years.

Hunkarin was sentenced to two years imprisonment without the option of a fine for conspiracy.

Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the conviction as proof of the agency’s determination to track down fugitives and ensure drug traffickers are brought to justice, regardless of how long they evade arrest.

Drug kingpin, ex-footballer jailed 24yrs for cocaine trafficking