Fugitive drug kingpin, ex-footballer bag 24 years for cocaine importation
A fugitive drug kingpin and a former international footballer have been sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison for cocaine importation.
Musa Kakaki, the presiding judge at the federal high Court in Lagos, sentenced Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu to 22 years’ imprisonment, while Hunkarin Segun George was sentenced to two years.
Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said in a statement on Monday that the convicts were prosecuted for the unlawful importation of a combined 7.050 kilogrammes of cocaine.
According to Babafemi, Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 on a one-count charge of unlawfully importing 6.250 kilogrammes of cocaine.
The NDLEA spokesperson said Chinedu pleaded not guilty and was granted bail but jumped bail midway through the trial and remained at large for nearly 10 years.
He said NDLEA operatives re-arrested him on June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle 800 grammes of cocaine into the country on an inbound Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
According to Babafemi, Chinedu was a frequent traveller who conveyed clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey.
Investigation showed that he travelled from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight and transited through Addis Ababa, where he collected luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.
Babafemi said further investigation revealed that Hunkarin, a former professional footballer who had spent years playing for football clubs in Brazil, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport car park to collect the consignment.
Hunkarin was subsequently tracked and arrested at the car park.
In his statement, the former footballer claimed that he had trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia while playing professional football in the South American country.
Both men were later arraigned on a three-count charge for the unlawful importation of 800 grammes of cocaine.
Delivering judgement on Friday, the judge sentenced Chinedu to 20 years in prison without an option of a fine for unlawfully importing 6.250 kilogrammes of cocaine.
He was sentenced to an additional two years, also without an option of a fine, for conspiring with Hunkarin to unlawfully import 800 grammes of cocaine, bringing his total sentence to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge.
The sentences bring the combined jail terms for the two convicts to 24 years.
Reviewing the facts of the case, Adekunle Adebajo, NDLEA prosecuting counsel, told the court that Chinedu had earlier been arraigned before Salihu Saudi, a now retired judge, in 2015 on the same importation charge but disappeared after being granted bail.
Citing several legal authorities, Adebajo urged the court to sentence the convicts in line with the relevant provisions of the NDLEA Act.
Defence counsel, Benson Ndakara for Chinedu and Emefo Etudo for Hunkarin, pleaded for leniency and urged the court to consider options of fines in lieu of custodial sentences.
The court, however, sentenced both men to prison terms without an option of a fine after reviewing the submissions, cited authorities and exhibits tendered before it.
Reacting to the judgement, Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, commended the judiciary for the conviction.
Marwa described the judgement as a reaffirmation of the courts’ commitment to ridding the country of drug trafficking and those involved in the crime, regardless of how long they evade justice.
He also commended the NDLEA officers and personnel involved in the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the case.
According to him, Chinedu’s re-arrest after nearly 10 years on the run demonstrated the agency’s doggedness, patience and thoroughness in tracking down fugitives.
Marwa said the development also showed that no drug trafficker could permanently escape the long arm of the law.
He restated the agency’s resolve to continue working with the judiciary and other stakeholders to ensure that persons involved in drug trafficking, regardless of their status or how long they attempt to evade justice, are brought to book.
