Three kingpins and 16 others have been sentenced to a total of 302 years in prison for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and opioids following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement yesterday that the 19 convicts top the list of 414 drug traffickers and dealers convicted by the Federal High Court in Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe and the FCT between July 1 and July 31, 2024 based on charges filed against them by the anti-narcotics agency.
One of the kingpins, 50-year-old Bolanle Lookman Dauda, was arrested in an intelligence-led raid by operatives of a special operation unit in NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry expressway while attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana on May 25, 2024.
He was subsequently arraigned before Hon. Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos in charge number FHC/L/537C/2024.
In his judgment delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Allagoa convicted and sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment or payment of an option of N30million fine.
Another kingpin is 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi who was arrested at the popular Idumota market in Lagos Island, where no fewer than 1,100 ampoules of lethal synthetic opioid, fentanyl, weighing 6.480kg were recovered from him.
The NDLEA said the dangerous opioid is 100 times more potent than heroin and currently responsible for over 70 per cent overdose deaths as well as a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the US.
On July 4, 2024, the trial judge convicted Ifeanyi on the two counts charge and sentenced him to 14 years in jail or an option of N2million fine.
Christian Anyanwu was arrested on November 26, 2022 with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs going to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
He was subsequently docked before Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court Lagos, and later convicted on July 12, 2024. In his ruling, the trial judge sentenced Anyanwu to 16 years in jail, four of which is a mandatory imprisonment without an option of fine.
Others who bagged mandatory imprisonment in July for drug trafficking include: Moses Yakubu sentenced to 25 years in prison on July 22 by Justice Rita Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court Abuja; Oluosun Okikiola who was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail on July 17 by Justice A. A Okeke of the Federal High Court Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Justice R.J Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State convicted and sentenced Chanchan Terpase to seven years in prison on July 9, while Justice C.O. Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Benin, Edo State convicted and sentenced Beauty Gani to 30 years in prison or payment of an option of N8million fine on July 3, 2024.
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