A fugitive drug kingpin, Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, and another man described as ‘ex-international football player’, Hunkarin Segun George, have been sentenced to a total of 24 years imprisonment for importation of 7.050 kilogrammes of cocaine into Nigeria.
Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, sentenced them on July 24 following their arraignment by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 on a one-count charge for importing 6.250 kilogrammes of cocaine.
He pleaded not guilty and was admitted to bail, but jumped bail midway into trial and remained at large for nearly 10 years.
He was eventually re-arrested by operatives of the NDLEA on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport while attempting to smuggle 800 grammes of cocaine on an inbound Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.
Investigation showed that the convict was coming from Turkey on Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.
Further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be a ‘former professional footballer’, Segun George Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport car park to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs was promptly tracked and arrested at the car park.
In his statement at the NDLEA custody, Hunkarin claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia.
Both Chinedu and Hunkarin were subsequently arraigned on a three-count charge for importation cocaine.
Delivering judgment on Friday, July 24, Justice Kakaki sentenced Chinedu to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for the importation of cocaine, and a further two years, also without an option of fine, for conspiring with Hunkarin to import cocaine, bringing his total sentence to 22 years.
Hunkarin was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, bringing the combined jail terms to 24 years imprisonment.
