Cocaine convict breaks down in tears as he receives five years’ imprisonment

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a drug trafficker, Vincent Chukwu, to five years in prison after he was found guilty of smuggling cocaine. The convict broke down in tears as the judgment was delivered on Tuesday.

Chukwu was prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on two counts of concealing 735.95 grams of cocaine in his body with the intention of exporting it. He was arrested on February 4 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while undergoing clearance for a Qatar Airways flight.

He pleaded guilty to the charges when arraigned.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by A.G. Yuanyam, presented Abdulwahab Ahmed, an NDLEA exhibit officer, as a witness. Ahmed told the court that a body scan conducted on the suspect confirmed the presence of illicit substances. He added that Chukwu was placed under observation and, after about five days, excreted 52 pellets of cocaine weighing 735.95 grams.

According to the witness, each stage of the excretion process was documented, and the defendant made statements in the presence of his lawyer.

The prosecution submitted the recovered drugs, cash, and the defendant’s statements as evidence, all of which were admitted by the court. It then urged the court to convict Chukwu based on his guilty plea and requested the forfeiture of his money and international passport.

In a plea for leniency, defence counsel E.U. Okeryi described the convict as a first-time offender who showed remorse. He told the court that Chukwu, a 34-year-old trader at Balogun Market, turned to drug trafficking due to financial hardship and mounting debts. He appealed for a fine instead of a custodial sentence.

However, Justice Mohammed Umar sentenced Chukwu to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with both sentences to run concurrently. The court also ordered that the seized cocaine be handed over to the NDLEA for destruction.