Former international footballer Segun Hunkarin and convicted drug trafficker Ntoruka Chinedu have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos for offences linked to the importation of cocaine into Nigeria.
Justice Musa Kakaki convicted the pair after they were found guilty of unlawfully importing a total of 7.05 kilograms of cocaine.
In a statement released on Monday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that Chinedu was initially arraigned in September 2015 over the importation of 6.25kg of cocaine. However, he fled after being granted bail and remained on the run for nearly a decade.
According to the agency, Chinedu was arrested again on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja while attempting to bring another 800 grams of cocaine into Nigeria on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
Investigations showed that he had travelled from Turkey and stopped over in Ethiopia, where he allegedly collected the suitcase containing the illicit drugs before continuing his journey to Nigeria.
NDLEA also revealed that Hunkarin, who previously played professional football in Brazil, was arrested in the airport car park while waiting to receive the drug consignment.
During interrogation, Hunkarin reportedly admitted that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia during his football career in South America.
Both men were later charged with conspiracy and the unlawful importation of 800 grams of cocaine.
In his judgment, Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years in prison for the 2015 cocaine importation case and an additional two years for conspiring with Hunkarin to import the 800 grams of cocaine, bringing his total jail term to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, bringing their combined prison terms to 24 years.
