By Abibat Aliu
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-footballer, Okafor Emmanuel Junior, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on board an Ethiopian airlines flight with 1.40kg of crack cocaine concealed in his bags.
The 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government, Abia State was arrested on Monday 26 September, 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.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said on Sunday in Abuja that during a 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 to lack of official documents,” Babafemi said.
Another Brazilian returnee, Ibeh Chinedu Damian, was arrested the 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 of black cocaine popularly known as ‘Lucci’ in the false bottoms of his two bags.
In his statement, he said he was to be paid N3.1m for the successful delivery of the drug in Nigeria.
