A Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, has sentenced two drug traffickers
to fifty-five years in jail.
One of the convicts,Deborah Okafor, a 30-year-old professional dancer,
was charged with conspiracy, trafficking and unlawful possession of
3.450kg of amphetamine, while the other,Iheme Onyemauchechukwu, was
charged with trafficking and unlawful importation of 9.975kg of heroin.
They were both arrested at the Enugu airport.
A statement by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said Okafor
would have been paid the sum of $3,500 if she successfully made her trip
to Malaysia.
She was convicted and sentenced by Justice D. V. Agishito 10 years
each in counts one and two and 20 years in count three making her
sentence 40 years altogether.
The second convict,Onyemau chechukwu,27, was charged with trafficking
and unlawful importation of 9.975kg of heroin. He was convicted as
charged and sentenced to 10 years in count one with a fine of N1m and
five years in count two with a fine of N500,000,000.
Okafor reportedly hid 3.450kg of amphetamine inside the pockets of jean
trousers in her luggage.
She told the court that she was broke and needed money. “I had been
approached on many occasions to smuggle drugs but I declined.
I thought that I could earn some quick money in few days,” she stated.
Onyemau chechukwu said he was recruited in Tanzania by a suspected
drug cartel in East Africa. He told investigators that he smuggled drugs
because he was stranded.
“I used to sell phone accessories before I left the country. I wanted to go
to Malaysia in search of job opportunities but I was stranded in Tanzania.
Then I met a Nigerian who gave me money and promised to assist me get
back to Nigeria.
He offered to give me some money to start up my business. He later took
me to Bujumbura in Burundi where I was given 9.975kg of heroin hidden
inside cosmetics,” he stated.
NDLEA Chairman,Ahmadu Giade,expressed satisfaction with the
judgment.
