An ex-footballer, identified as Okafor Emmanuel Junior, has been arrested by the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on board an Ethiopian airlines flight with 1.40kg crack cocaine concealed in his bags.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Director, Media & Advocacy Femi Babafemi, the 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government, Abia State was arrested on Monday 26th September 2022 after anti-narcotic officers discovered he concealed the illicit substance in the handles of his bags and padded the top edges of same with the class A drug.
According to the statement during preliminary interview, Okafor disclosed that he was an ex-footballer with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH Enugu FC, where he played for four seasons before leaving for Sri Lanka in 2014.
He further stated that he moved to Brazil from Sri Lanka after playing for two seasons but could not advance his football career in Brazil due lack of official documents.
In the same vein, a Brazilian returnee, Ibeh Chinedu Damian was arrested same day upon his arrival at the Lagos airport from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Ethiopian airlines flight. Ibeh who hails from Ahiazu, Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, was found to have concealed 3.20kg black cocaine popularly known as Lucci in false bottoms of his two bags.
In his statement, he said he was to be paid three million, one hundred thousand naira (N3,100,000) on successful delivery of the drug in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers for their resilience, while charging them and others across the country to intensify ongoing offensive action against drug cartels and traffickers wherever they may be located in any part of Nigeria.
