Ex-international footballer, accomplice jailed 24 years for cocaine trafficking

A former international footballer, Segun Hunkarin, and a fugitive drug kingpin, Ntoruka Chinedu, have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison for importing cocaine into Nigeria. The Federal High Court in Lagos handed down the sentences after finding the duo guilty of charges related to the unlawful importation of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine.

Chinedu, who had been on the run for nearly a decade, was first arraigned in September 2015 for importing 6.25kg of cocaine. He absconded after being granted bail but was re-arrested on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. He was attempting to smuggle an additional 800 grams of cocaine aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

NDLEA investigations revealed Chinedu traveled from Turkey, transiting through Ethiopia where he allegedly collected the cocaine-laden luggage. Hunkarin, who previously played professional football in Brazil, was apprehended at the airport car park, waiting to receive the consignment. Hunkarin admitted during investigation to having trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his football career.

Justice Musa Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years for the 2015 case and an additional two years for conspiring with Hunkarin, totaling 22 years. Hunkarin received a two-year sentence for conspiracy. The court rejected pleas for leniency and fines, opting for custodial sentences.