Two drug traffickers sentenced to 55 Years in jail

Two drug traffickers who was arrested at the Enugu airport, has been sentenced  to fifty-five years in jail by a Federal High Court in Enugu state.

The two drugs traffickers identified as Deborah Okafor, 30, a professional dancer, and Iheme Onyemauchechukwu, was convicted and sentenced by Justice D. V. Agishi.

Deborah Okafor, a 30-year-old, 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.

According to a statement from 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 to 10 years each in counts one and two and 20 years in count three making her sentence 40 years altogether.

While Onyemauchechukwu, 27, 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  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,”

Onyemauchechukwu said he  used to sell phone accessories before I left Nigeria to Tanzania. He said 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 punishment.said, “While this punishment is expected to correct the convicts, it will equally help to deter others from getting involved in drug trafficking. The agency commits huge resources in drug investigation, arrests and prosecution. Judgment like this will further lend credence to the nation’s anti-drug campaign.”