Drug mule jailed for 25 years after excreting 80 wraps of cocaine at Lagos airport
Freeman Charles Ogbonna was caught trying to smuggle drugs to India
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A federal high court has sentenced an India-bound drug trafficker, Freeman Charles Ogbonna, to 25 years’ imprisonment after he was successfully prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Ogbonna was arrested three months ago at the screening point of Terminal 2, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, by NDLEA operatives. He was attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to Delhi, India, via Doha.
He was travelling on a Liberian international passport bearing the name Carr Bismark. However, preliminary checks revealed his real identity as Freeman Charles Ogbonna.
Ogbonna was taken for a body scan, which tested positive for the ingestion of illicit drugs. He was subsequently placed under observation in NDLEA custody, where he began to show signs of discomfort.
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Clearly suffering from the volume of drugs in his stomach and another substance taken to prevent excretion, Ogbonna began retching before vomiting and excreting wraps of cocaine. Over four days, he passed a total of 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 889 grams.
Ogbonna claimed he was recruited into drug trafficking by a relative and was given the drugs to swallow at a hotel in the Ipodo area of Ikeja. He was promised N300,000 if he successfully delivered the consignment to India.
He was subsequently arraigned before Justice Dipeolu Deinde Isaac of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on charge number FHCL/378/2024. He was charged with committing an offence contrary to section 20(1)(b) and punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30 LFN 2004.
On Monday, 1 July 2024, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Ogbonna to 25 years in prison without the option of a fine.
The Chairman and Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Marwa (Rtd), commended the MMIA Command and the prosecution team for the swift and diligent handling of the case. He added that the judiciary remains a strong pillar in the coordinated effort to curb substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria.
He said Ogbonna’s conviction sends a strong signal to others that there is no hiding place for drug barons and their mules.
