Court Jails Make-Up Artist For Trafficking 2.2kg Cocaine To India

Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced Mary, a 43-year-old make-up artist.

Adekoya was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for attempting to traffic 2.20 kilograms of cocaine to an Indian.

Justice Kakaki jailed the convict after she pleaded guilty to the two-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful exportation of the prohibited substance brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, had earlier informed the judge that the convict had conspired with one Akeern Aderiola, also known as Adekanbi Akeem Ayinde, who was currently at large, to commit the crimes.

Ibrahim had also claimed that the convict was arrested in possession of the drug on June 16, 2025, at the E-boarding gate of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja-Lagos, during the outbound clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight to India via Doha, Qatar.

The lawyer stated that offences are contrary to sections 14(b) and 11(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Based on her plea, the prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case through the arresting officer, who narrated to the court how the convict was apprehended.

After reviewing the facts, the prosecutor urged the court to convict and sentence her in accordance with the law under which she was charged.

However, the defence lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating that his client was lured into drug trafficking due to health issues, as she was seeking money for a fibroid operation in India.

He urged the court to consider her early guilty plea as a sign of remorse and to impose a fine instead of a custodial sentence.

Justice Kakaki, after considering the lawyer’s plea for leniency and confirming from the prosecutor that the convict was a first-time offender with no prior convictions, sentenced her to three years’ imprisonment.

The judge also ordered her international passport and travel documents to be forfeited to the federal government and remitted to the Nigerian Immigration Services for necessary action.

The court further ordered the forfeiture of her phones and all items seized from the Hotel and Suites, also known as Rockford Hotel & Suites, located at 1 Feyisara Street, off Itokin Road, Ajegunle, Sango-Ota, Ogun State, to the federal government as proceeds of drug trafficking.