Published 2nd Oct, 2022

By Adebola Adewara

Okafor Emmanuel Junior, an ex-footballer, has been arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

According to a statement by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA spokesperson, Okafor was arrested with 1.40kg crack cocaine concealed in his bags on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“The 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government, Abia State, was arrested on Monday, September 26, 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,” the agency stated.

“During the preliminary interview with Okafor, he 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.”

Also, the NDLEA said it arrested Ibeh Chinedu Damian, another Brazilian returnee, on 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 black cocaine popularly known as ‘Lucci’ in false bottoms of his two bags,” the agency said.

“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.”

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