A former footballer, Okafor Emmanuel Junior, who had earlier been arrested by NDLEA has now been convicted of cocaine trafficking and sentenced to five years imprisonment.
According to reports on Sunday morning, November 6, 2022, the judgement by Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos was handed down after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge of trafficking in the banned substance made against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Pulse Sports Nigeria had previously reported how Okafor was detained on September 26 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State, 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.
A judgement by Justice Oweibo, sentenced the former NNL player to five years imprisonment, starting from the date of his arrest.
He, however, gave him an option of a N1 million fine as a substitute for the jail term.
Junior Okafor’s Arrest
Okafor who arrived in Nigeria on board an Ethiopian airlines flight was arrested following the discovery on Monday, September 26, 2022.
The anti-narcotic officers were able to get to where he hid the illicit substance in his luggage.
Okafor is a 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government in Abia State and disclosed to the NDLEA his journey into drug trafficking.
He explained that he was a professional footballer just some years ago in the Nigerian National League (NNL).
Okafor was a key player for NNL side University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH in Enugu FC for four seasons.
Like most Nigerian footballers he traveled abroad in search of greener pastures. In 2014, Okafor left the shores of Nigeria for Sri Lanka and after two seasons moved to Brazil.
He could not continue his professional football ambitions in Brazil due to the lack of official documents hence his return to the country.
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