Popular former Nigerian footballer arrested for smuggling cocaine [Photos]

A former Nigeria football star, Okafor Emmanuel has been arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

He was arrested 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.

Okafor is from Arochukwu Local Government Council in Abia State, South East Nigeria and is a 33 year old former player.

The narcotic officers of NDLEA arrested him on Monday 26th September, 2022 after he was discovered to have concealed the illicit substance in the handles of his bags and padded the top edges of same with the class A drug.

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 to lack of official documents.

Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men of Seaports Operations, MMIA, Ogun, and Taraba Commands 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.