An auto parts dealer, Mr. Okeke Chika Victor, has
bagged 10 years imprisonment for heroin smuggling.
Victor was sentenced by the Honourable Justice Sale
Kogo Idrissa of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.
He pleaded not guilty to a one count charge of
unlawful importation of heroin filed against him by the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The heroin, weighing 10.6kg and concealed inside new
submersible water pumping machines, were imported from Maputo in Mozambique in
April 2016.
The drugs were discovered at the Mallam Aminu Kano
International Airport (MAKIA) during an inward screening of an Ethiopian
Airline flight.
After an intense follow-up operation, Victor was
arrested on September 3, 2016 and charged to court.
According to the NDLEA Kano airport commander,
Ambrose Umaru, the arrest of Victor was made possible by the tenacity of
officers who successfully monitored him.
Umaru said: "After the heroin seizure was made
in April 2016, we organised a man hunt that eventually led to the arrest of
Victor in September 2016. Although he pleaded not guilty, but he was unable to
prove his case before the court.”
The convict in his statement said that he was promised
5000 dollars.
He said: "I
was asked to bring the heroin to Nigeria for a fee of $5,000, but my arrest
turned the table against me. I wanted to invest the money in automobile parts
business."
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha
Abdallah (rtd.) expressed satisfaction with the sentence, describing it as
laudable.
He added: "The timely dispensation of justice
and 10 years sentence passed on the convict is laudable. Let me assure you that
the Agency will continue to push for stiffer punishment for drug trafficking
thereby making the criminal trade unattractive."
Abdallah commended the Agency's growing capacity to
detect concealed drugs, adding that notwithstanding the clever manner the
heroin was concealed inside submersible water pumping machines, the drug was still
detected.
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