NDLEA Hunts Down Fugitive Drug Kingpin After 10 Years, Ex-International Footballer Jailed in Cocaine Bust
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
In a dramatic conclusion to a decade-long manhunt, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has secured a combined 24-year jail term against a fugitive drug kingpin who evaded justice for nearly 10 years and a former international footballer linked to a cocaine trafficking syndicate, in what the agency described as a strong message that no trafficker can outrun the law.
Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos convicted and sentenced fugitive drug kingpin, Ntoruka Chinedu, to 22 years imprisonment, while former professional footballer Segun Hunkarin was sentenced to two years for their roles in the unlawful importation of cocaine into Nigeria.
The landmark judgment capped a case that began in 2015 when Chinedu was first arraigned for importing 6.250 kilogrammes of cocaine. After pleading not guilty and securing bail, he absconded midway through trial, disappearing for almost a decade before being tracked down by NDLEA operatives.
