Court Jails Trader 7 Years For Selling Tramadol

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos has sentenced a 33-year-old trader, Kingsley Duru to seven years imprisonment for unlawful dealings in different brands of tramadol.

Justice Aluko Jailed Duru after he pleaded guilty to a five-count charge of conspiracy and unlawful dealing in the banned drug brought against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The prosecutor, Lambert Nor had told the court that the convict committed the offence between August 27 and September 2, 2022, at First Estate, Raji Rasaki Road, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

Lambert also claimed that the convict had in his possession 111.2kg of Tramadol Hydrochloride 250mg; 115.2kg of Tramadol Hydrochloride 120g; 10kg of Tramadol Hydrochloride 100mg and 8kg of Tramadol Hydrochloride 100mg.

He maintained that the offence is contrary to sections 14 (b) and 11(d) of the NDLEA Act Cap 3 30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and punishable under the same Act.

Based on the plea, Lambert urged the court to convict and sentence the convict in accordance with the law under which he was charged.

However, the defence counsel, Mousa Anyama, in his allocutus, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy and considered that the convict was a first-time offender.

Anyama told the court that the convict was a squatter when he was arrested with the banned drug and that he had learnt his lesson from when he was arrested on August 27.

The lawyer particularly urged the court to consider imposing an option of a fine instead of a custodian sentence on his client.

Justice Aluko in his judgment sentenced the convict to seven years on each of the counts with an option of N1 million fine.

Justice Aluko also ordered the convict to perform two weeks of community service, by picking up refuse at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, two hours daily for the two weeks.