The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has secured a cumulative 302-year prison sentence for three drug kingpins and 16 other convicts involved in trafficking illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, and opioids.
In a statement issued on Friday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi disclosed that these 19 individuals are among 414 drug traffickers and dealers convicted by the Federal High Courts in Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja during the month of July 2024. The convictions followed charges filed by the NDLEA against the offenders.
Among the kingpins is Bolanle Dauda, 50, who was apprehended during an intelligence-led operation while attempting to smuggle 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilograms across the Lagos-Badagry border to Ghana. A subsequent search of his residence in Ogun State led to the discovery of an additional eight blocks of cocaine, bringing the total to 57.5 kilograms. Dauda was sentenced to 21 years in prison or a N30 million fine by Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos on July 19, 2024.
Another major trafficker, 34-year-old Ikeh Ifeanyi, was arrested at Idumota market, Lagos, with 1,100 ampoules of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, weighing 6.48 kilograms. The drug, which is significantly more potent than heroin, has been linked to a high rate of overdose deaths in the United States. Ifeanyi was sentenced to 14 years in prison or a N2 million fine by Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Lagos on July 4, 2024.
Christian Anyanwu, the third kingpin, was arrested in November 2022 with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in custard tins intended for smuggling to Brazil. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison, with a mandatory four-year imprisonment, by Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court, Lagos on July 12, 2024.
Additional sentences were handed down in other cases across the country, with penalties ranging from seven to 30 years for the convicted traffickers.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) praised the agency’s officers and the judiciary for their efforts, emphasizing that these sentences will bolster the agency’s drug supply reduction strategies.
