NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed that Hunkarin was apprehended after his associate, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, was caught on June 24, 2025, with 800 grams of cocaine hidden in 37 wraps inside his carry-on luggage. Chinedu had flown into Nigeria from Turkey via Addis Ababa and was intercepted by NDLEA officers upon arrival.
Investigations by the NDLEA revealed that the ex-footballer was waiting in the airport car park to receive the narcotics consignment. Hunkarin, who played professional football in Brazil for several years, confessed to having previously trafficked drugs from Brazil to Ethiopia but denied ever smuggling drugs into Nigeria.
In a separate operation on June 27, NDLEA operatives arrested Amen Okoro Godstime, a Europe-based businessman, at MMIA while attempting to export 5,000 pills of Tramadol 225mg disguised as malaria medication to Spain. Okoro, who works in logistics between Europe and Nigeria, allegedly planned to distribute the drugs across France and Italy.
Meanwhile, at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) in Enugu, NDLEA officers intercepted Ezenwaka Chibuzor Emmanuel, a bar attendant from Mozambique, in possession of 17.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3.05 kilograms of cocaine concealed in his luggage. He had arrived from Johannesburg via Addis Ababa on June 27.
NDLEA parades drug trafficking suspect arrested at MMIA, Lagos, during a major anti-narcotics operation.
At the same airport, 54-year-old toy merchant Azu Follygan Kpodar was also caught with 1.25 kilograms of liquid cocaine camouflaged as liquid soap. Kpodar claimed he purchased the substance while shopping for his wedding in Brazil.
In another bust, NDLEA personnel at the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, arrested 26-year-old Beninese national Vode Jean-Luck on June 24 for allegedly trying to smuggle 29.5 kilograms of skunk cannabis into Nigeria.
