60-Year-Old Chinese Woman Jailed For Trafficking 31kg Of Cannabis

Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced a 60-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hong Kiong, to two years’ imprisonment for unlawfully importing 31 kilogrammes of Cannabis sativa into Nigeria.

Justice Kakaki handed down the sentence after Kiong pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of drug trafficking brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The judge ordered that the sentence run from 17 May 2026, the date of her arrest.

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NDLEA prosecuting counsel, Cyril Osaigbo, had earlier told the judge that Kiong was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, during the inward clearance of passengers aboard an Emirates Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand, via Dubai to Lagos.

Osaigbo also claimed that the foreigner was found in possession of 31kg of Cannabis sativa, a narcotic drug, without lawful authority.

The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 11(a) of the NDLEA Act.

After the charge was read, Kiong pleaded guilty.

The prosecutor then sought the court’s permission to review the facts of the case.

He tendered relevant documentary exhibits, as well as the bulk of the Cannabis sativa allegedly recovered from the defendant.

After presenting the evidence, Osaigbovo urged the court to convict Kiong on the strength of her guilty plea and the uncontroverted evidence before it.

Justice Kakaki subsequently convicted her.

In his plea for leniency, defence counsel Chief Benson Ndakara urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that his client had shown remorse by promptly pleading guilty and had not wasted the court’s time.

Ndakara told the court that Kiong, who is 60 years old, had learnt her lesson and would not repeat the offence.

The lawyer also described his client as a “victim of circumstances”, arguing that she had allegedly fallen under the influence of a person who presented himself to her as a lover but had ulterior motives.

“She interacted with a person more wiser than her who proposed love on one hand, but with ulterior motive,” Ndakara stated.

He urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence or a fine, offering to bear the financial consequences personally.

“She has been abandoned. I ask for mercy from the temple of justice,” he pleaded.

However, in his judgment, Justice Kakaki said the court could not ignore the seriousness of drug trafficking and its consequences for society and Nigeria’s image.

The judge held that Kiong knew what she was doing, adding that the prevalence of hard drugs and the damage they cause to society made it necessary for the court to impose an appropriate sentence.

Justice Kakaki consequently sentenced her to two years’ imprisonment, with effect from 17 May 2026.