Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday sentenced one Taiwo Anuoluwapo to five years imprisonment for smuggling 23.3 Kilogrammes of the synthetic strain of Cannabis Sativa, popularly called Canada Loud into the country in loudspeakers.
Anuoluwapo, who was arraigned before the court last week Tuesday on three charges of conspiracy and unlawful possession of the said banned substance by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) pleaded guilty to the charge.
But his co-defendant, Gboyega Babalola, a freight forwarder, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Following their pleas, Justice Aluko adjourned the case yesterday for a review of the facts and a hearing of the bail application of the freight agent.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the convict was arrested on February 17, 2024, at the Allen Avenue area of Ikeja, Lagos.
Ibrahim informed the court that the convict conspired with two other persons, ‘Pappy’ based in the United States of America and KIM, with telephone number +19296691076, based in Canada to commit the offences.
The prosecutor also tendered the bulk of the seized drug, samples taken to the laboratory to confirm its authenticity, and the convict’s confessional statements through an NDLEA operative, which the court admitted.
Following the admission of the exhibits, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence the convict by the sections of the NDLEA Acts under which he was charged.
But the defence lawyer, Dennis Warri, in his allocution, told the court that the convict was a first-time convict without a previous conviction record and that he had learned his lesson.
Justice Aluko, in his judgment, sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment.
He, however, ordered the convict to pay N1.5 million instead of the jail term.
Meanwhile, the second defendant, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, has been admitted to bail in the sum of N10 million with one surety in like sum.
The judge has adjourned his trial to June 13.
