Three jailed in Lagos for drug trafficking

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

Justice Kehinde Ogundare convicted and sentenced Kazeem Mustapha, Andrew Ukelere and Anthony Chinemerem to three years in prison.

The three men were arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on a two-count charge bordering on drug trafficking to which they pleaded guilty.

Following the pleas, the court reviewed the facts of the case, with NDLEA counsel, Ms Ifeoma Erondu, tendering several exhibits in support of the prosecution’s case.

She urged the judge to convict the three men based on their guilty pleas and evidence before the court.

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.

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.