Trio bag three years imprisonment for illicit drug dealing

A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, convicted and sentenced three men for illegally dealing in illicit drugs.

Justice Kehinde Ogundare handed down the verdict, sentencing Kazeem Mustapha, Andrew Ukelere, and Anthony Chinemerem to three years in prison.

The trio was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on a two-count charge related to drug trafficking, to which they pleaded guilty.

After reviewing the case’s facts and with NDLEA counsel Ms. Ifeoma Erondu tendering several exhibits, the court found the evidence in support of the prosecution’s case compelling.

Consequently, the judge convicted the three men based on their guilty pleas and the evidence presented.

The judge admitted the exhibits in evidence and convicted them.

He sentenced Mustapha and Ukelere to two years imprisonment with an option of N250, 000 fine, each, on count one.

On count two, the judge sentenced Mustapha and Chinemerem to one year imprisonment with an option of a N100,000 fine, each.

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He directed that the terms of imprisonment run concurrently while the fines should be cumulative.

According to NDLEA, the convicts committed the offences on March 19 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The agency said Mustapha and Ukelere illegally trafficked 13.9kg of Tramadol, adding that Mustapha and Chinemerem trafficked 590 litres of Pentazocine.

Drug trafficking contravenes Section 11(b) of the NDLEA Act of 2004.