The Federal High Court in Lagos convicted and sentenced a man, Taiwo Anuoluwapo, to five years imprisonment for smuggling 23.3 kilogrammes of a synthetic strain of cannabis sativa, popularly called Canadian loud, into the country concealed in loudspeakers.
Anuoluwapo was arraigned last week Tuesday alongside a freight forwarder, Babalola Gboyega, on three counts of conspiracy and unlawful possession of cannabis sativa, preferred against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
During the arraignment, Anuoluwapo admitted to committing the offences, but the freight forwarder denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their pleas, Justice Akintayo Aluko adjourned the case until Tuesday for the review of the facts and hearing of the bail application of the freight agent.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the NDLEA prosecutor, Mr Abu Ibrahim, informed the court that the convict was arrested on February 17, 2024, at the Allen Avenue area of Ikeja, Lagos state.
Ibrahim stated that the convict conspired with one ‘Pappy’ based in the United States of America and Kim based in Canada to commit the offences.
The prosecutor, through one of the NDLEA’s operatives, tendered both the bulk of the seized drug and samples taken to the laboratory to confirm its authenticity, as well as the convict’s confessional statements, which were admitted by the court.
Following the admission of the exhibits, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence the convict in accordance with the sections of the NDLEA Act he was charged with.
However, the convict’s lawyer, Dennis Warri, in his plea for mercy, told the court that the convict was a first-time offender with no previous conviction record, adding that he had learned his lesson, and also confided in him that he would not go back to crime.
The lawyer, who described the convict as a ‘young man’ and a graduate who allowed himself, to be used for the ‘mess’, also prayed the court to give him a second chance.
He appealed to the court to consider a non-custodial sentence in lieu of imprisonment, citing relevant sections of the law.
Ibrahim confirmed to the court that the convict had no evidence of previous convictions known to the prosecution.
He, therefore, urged the court to return NDLEA’s exhibits as they would be used for the prosecution of the first defendant, the freight agent.
In his judgment, Justice Aluko sentenced the convict to five years’ imprisonment but ordered him to pay a fine of N1.5m in lieu of the jail term.
Meanwhile, the freight agent, Gboyega, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was granted bail in the sum of N10m, with one surety in like sum.
The judge stipulated that the surety could be a civil servant on grade level 14 and above or an owner of a plot of land with necessary documents within the court’s jurisdiction. The surety must also have a permanent residence in Lagos with an affidavit of means.
The case was adjourned to June 13, 2024, for the trial of the freight agent.
