The Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced a former professional footballer, Segun George Hunkarin, and fugitive drug trafficker Ntoruka Chinedu to a combined 24 years’ imprisonment for cocaine importation offences.
Justice Musa Kakaki convicted the duo on charges bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful importation of cocaine into Nigeria.
According to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 over the importation of 6.25 kilograms of cocaine but jumped bail and remained on the run for almost 10 years.
He was re-arrested on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, while attempting to smuggle another 800 grams of cocaine into Nigeria aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
Investigators said Chinedu travelled from Turkey and transited through Ethiopia, where he allegedly collected the cocaine-laden luggage before arriving in Lagos.
NDLEA operatives also arrested Hunkarin, a former footballer who previously played professionally in Brazil, at the airport car park while waiting to receive the consignment.
The agency said Hunkarin admitted to trafficking drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his football career.
Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years in prison without the option of a fine for the 2015 cocaine importation case and an additional two years for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the second cocaine consignment, bringing his total sentence to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) described the judgment as a reaffirmation of the judiciary’s commitment to the fight against drug trafficking and praised operatives for tracking and re-arresting Chinedu after nearly a decade as a fugitive.
