4 months ago
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A Federal High Court has sentenced a passenger bound for Delhi, India, Freeman Ogbonna, to 25 years imprisonment for drug trafficking.
The conviction came three months after Ogbonna was arrested and subsequently vomited and excreted 80 wraps of cocaine following his detention by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
This development was disclosed in a statement by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Tuesday.
Ogbonna was arrested on Sunday, March 31, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Delhi, India, via Doha, using a Liberian international passport under the name Carr Bismark.
Babafemi revealed that a body scan confirmed Ogbonna had ingested illicit drugs. The convict, unable to retain the drugs, vomited and excreted the substances while in NDLEA custody.
Preliminary checks revealed Ogbonna’s real identity as Freeman Charles Ogbonna. He was placed under observation, where he began to show signs of discomfort due to the volume of drugs in his stomach and another substance taken to prevent excretion.
Over four days, Ogbonna excreted a total of 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 889 grams.
Ogbonna confessed that he was recruited into drug trafficking by a relative. He claimed he was given the drugs to swallow at a hotel in the Ipodo area of Ikeja and promised N300,000 if he successfully delivered the consignment in India.
The statement read: “The great risk that almost took his life notwithstanding, Ogbonna said he was given the drugs to swallow at a hotel in the Ipodo area of Ikeja with a promise to reward him with N300,000 cash if he successfully delivered the consignment in India.”
Following his confession, Ogbonna was arraigned before Justice Dipeolu Deinde Isaac of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on charges of violating section 20(1)(b) and punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 LFN 2004.
Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ogbonna to 25 years in prison without an option of a fine.
Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the MMIA Command and the prosecution team for their diligent handling of the case.
Marwa stressed that the judiciary remains a strong pillar in the fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria, noting that Ogbonna’s conviction serves as a strong warning to drug barons and their mules.
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