Three drug kingpins, 16 others bag 302 years jail term

Three kingpins and 16 other offenders have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 302 years in prison for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids, following their arrest and diligent prosecution by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The 19 convicts are among 414 drug traffickers and dealers convicted by the Federal High Court in Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, between July 1 and 31, 2024, based on charges filed by the anti-narcotics agency.

A statement by the NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, on Friday said one of the three kingpins, 50-year-old Bolanle Lookman Dauda, was arrested during an intelligence-led raid by operatives of a special operation unit of the NDLEA at Ibiye, along the Lagos-Badagry expressway. He was attempting to cross the land border to deliver the consignment to Ghana on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

At the point of his arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms were found on him. A swift follow-up operation at his residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC Extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of an additional eight blocks of the same drug, weighing 10 kilograms, bringing the total weight of the cocaine seized to 57.5 kilograms.

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He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/537C/2024.

In his judgment delivered on July 19, 2024, Justice Allagoa convicted and sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment or payment of a N30 million fine.

Another kingpin, 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi, was arrested at the popular Idumota market in Lagos Island, where no fewer than 1,100 ampoules of the lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl, weighing 6.480 kilograms, were recovered from him.

Fentanyl, a dangerous opioid, is 100 times more potent than heroin and is currently responsible for over 70% of overdose deaths, as well as being a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States.

Ifeanyi was later arraigned before Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in charge number FHC/L/433C/2024. Delivering his judgment on July 4, 2024, the trial judge convicted Ifeanyi on two counts and sentenced him to 14 years in jail or an option of a N2 million fine.

In another case, Christian Anyanwu was arrested on November 26, 2022, with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs, en route to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.

He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and later convicted on July 12, 2024. In his judgment, the trial judge sentenced Anyanwu to 16 years in jail, four of which are a mandatory term without the option of a fine.

Others who received mandatory prison sentences in July for drug trafficking include Moses Yakubu, sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on July 22 by Justice Rita Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and Oluosun Okikiola, who was convicted and sentenced to a 15-year jail term on July 17 by Justice A.A. Okeke of the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Similarly, Justice R.J. Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State, convicted and sentenced Chanchan Terpase to seven years imprisonment on July 9, while Justice C.O. Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Benin, Edo State, convicted and sentenced Beauty Gani to 30 years imprisonment or the payment of an N8 million fine on July 3, 2024.

Commending the officers and men of the various commands involved in the arrests and prosecutions, as well as the judiciary for the speedy adjudication of cases, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), said the sentencing of the convicts will further strengthen the agency’s efforts to reduce drug supply.