A former international footballer and a fugitive drug kingpin have been sentenced to a combined 24 years’ imprisonment after a Federal High Court in Lagos found them guilty of importing cocaine into Nigeria.

Justice Musa Kakaki delivered the judgment after convicting Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu and Hunkarin Segun George over the unlawful importation of 7.050 kilograms of cocaine. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) confirmed the conviction in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.

Drug Kingpin Rearrested After 10 Years on the Run

According to the NDLEA, Chinedu was first arraigned in September 2015 for importing 6.250 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.

Although he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail, he absconded during trial and remained a fugitive for nearly a decade.

His luck ran out on June 24, 2025, when NDLEA operatives rearrested him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while attempting to smuggle another 800 grams of cocaine into the country aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa.

Investigators said he travelled from Turkey and collected the illicit consignment during a stopover in Ethiopia before arriving in Nigeria.

Former Footballer Arrested at Airport

The investigation also led to the arrest of Chinedu’s alleged accomplice, Hunkarin Segun George, a former professional footballer who was waiting in the airport car park to receive the drugs.

During interrogation, George reportedly confessed to trafficking drugs on two occasions from Brazil to Ethiopia while pursuing his football career abroad.

Both men were subsequently charged in connection with the 800-gram cocaine seizure.

Court Hands Down 24-Year Jail Term

Delivering judgment on July 24, Justice Kakaki sentenced the two convicts to a combined 24 years in prison without the option of a fine.

The ruling brings to an end Chinedu’s decade-long attempt to evade justice and marks another major conviction secured by the NDLEA in its campaign against drug trafficking.