After being apprehended and charged by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), two well-known drug dealers, Agbo Chidike Prince and Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian, will be imprisoned for the rest of their life.
According to the Judge, the jail term is for “their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents.”
The Director of Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Femi Babafemi, announced this in a statement on Sunday.
He said that on March 19, 2022, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, during the inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Uwaezuoke, a 43-year-old businessman, was first arrested by NDLEA operatives after it was discovered that he had ingested 100 large wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243 kilograms. Since then, he has been imprisoned for life.
“He was subsequently arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022 and was granted bail on certain conditions after he pleaded not guilty. He thereafter absconded, leading the court to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant against him,” the statement read.
“In a curious twist, Uwaezuoke was again arrested by NDLEA operatives on 1st August 2023, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos while attempting to export 1.822 kilograms of cocaine to India through ingestion using a different passport and under a different name, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi.
“He was again arraigned before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in charge number FHC/L/554C/2023. He pleaded guilty to the two counts charge and was convicted and sentenced on 18th October 2023 to a total term of seven years of imprisonment or a fine of ₦1, 500,000.00. He paid the fine and was transferred to Abuja to face the importation case pending against him.
On March 20, 2024, the statement revealed that he was re-arraigned before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, with charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022. For the umpteenth time, he entered a guilty plea.
The second individual, Agbo Chidike Prince, 42, was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on October 21, 2023, during the departure clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Hong Kong, according to Babafemi. The reason for the arrest was that Prince had consumed 49 wraps of cocaine totaling 998.73 grams.
“Upon his arraignment before Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the one count charge, prompting the prosecution to present evidence and review the facts of the case.
“Despite the plea of allocutus by the defendant’s counsel, the court, noting the nature of the case and the commercial quantity of the drug, emphasized the seriousness of drug-related offences, convicted and sentenced the defendant on 15th April, 2024 to life imprisonment.”
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