Lebanon returnee, two others get 17 years jail for cocaine smuggling
The Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced three drug traffickers to a total of 17 years imprisonment for trafficking 7.3 kilograms of cocaine.
The convicts are: a Lebanon returnee, Chijioke Igbokwe; a commercial driver, Ezechi Cyprian and a spare parts dealer Okeke Igwe.
The trio were convicted by separate judges after pleading guilty to the offences.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa sentenced Igbokwe and Cyprian to eight years combined for trafficking 6.243 kilograms of cocaine.
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Igbokwe, who was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during the inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa on January 26, 2025, was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
He was, however, given an option of a N10m fine in lieu of prison and was also ordered to forfeit 2,500 Lebanese pounds found on him at the time of arrest.
Cyprian was arrested on February 23, 2025, along Gbagada-Oshodi Road, Lagos, with 4.3 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a white Toyota Sienna bus.
He was sentenced to a three-year jail term with an option of N5m fine.
In a separate trial, Justice Daniel Osiagor sentenced Okeke Igwe to seven years in prison for trafficking 1.1 kilograms of cocaine.
Igwe, a trader at the ASPAMDA market along the Badagry Expressway, was arrested on February 21, 2025.
The cocaine was concealed in auto spare parts intended for export.
The court heard that Igwe conspired with one Nweze Okechukwu of All Best Cargo to smuggle the drugs.
Justice Osiagor gave Igwe the option of paying an N4m fine, in lieu of the jail term.
During their arraignment, the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim, presented the charges and detailed the circumstances of the arrests.
They pleaded guilty, and their respective lawyers, Benson Ndakara, Anthony Nnamoko and Dennis Warri, pleaded with the court to award non-custodial sentence to their clients.
They premised their pleas because they were first-time offenders who had no records of previous convictions.
The judges sentenced all the convicts to a total of 15 years imprisonment.
Specifically, Justice Lewis-Allagoa sentenced the Lebanon returnee, Igbokwe, to five years imprisonment, but ordered him to pay a fine option of N10m in lieu of imprisonment.
He was also ordered to forfeit the sum of 2,500 Lebanese Pounds found on him during his arrest.
The judge sentenced the driver to three years imprisonment but ordered him to pay a N5m fine.
