Canadian Woman Bags 11 Years For Importing Illicit Drugs into Nigeria

A 41-year-old Canadian woman has been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos for importing 74 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis weighing 35.20 kilograms into Nigeria.

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos gave the sentencing to Adrienne Munju on Wednesday after she pleaded guilty to the two-count charge brought against her by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

A statement by Femi Babafemi, a spokesperson for NDLEA said Munju was apprehended at the terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday Oct. 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of in-bound passengers on KLM flight at the ‘D’ Arrival Hall of the airport.

In her statement after her arrest, Munju claimed she was recruited to traffic the illicit substances through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery to Lagos.
She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada.

Justice Dipeolu convicted and sentenced Munju after she pleaded guilty to both charges preferred against her by NDLEA.

Prosecuting Counsel, Barrister Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the illegal acts of the convict fails to conform sections 20(1)(a) and 19 of the NDLEA Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under section 20(2)(a) of the same act.

According to the NDLEA statement, the prosecutor called his witness, Angela Mba, an Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics who narrated how Munju was arrested with the illicit substances which was tendered as exhibits.

After reviewing the facts, the prosecutor urged the court to convict the defendant based on presented evidences, the exhibits presented, and the defendant’s guilty plea. As a result, the judge sentenced Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two, after listening to the allocutus by the defendant’s counsel.

“The judge, however, gave the convict an option of N50 million fine on each of the counts, bringing the total fine to N100 million, read the NDLEA statement.

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