Drug: Court gives Canadian lady 11 years jail term or N100m option

A 41-year-old Canadian lady, Adrienne Munju, was on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, convicted and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Lagos State for importing 74 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis weighing 35.20 kilograms, into Nigeria.

Munju’s conviction followed her arraignment on two counts charge before the court by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) which arrested her at terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in the Ikeja area of Lagos on October 3, 2024.

The Canadian had, in her statement after her arrest, claimed she was recruited to traffic the illicit consignment through an online platform for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery in Lagos.

She said she took the offer because she needed the money to pay for her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada.

However, prosecuting counsel Abu Ibrahim had earlier told the court that the illegal acts of the convict contravened sections 20(1}(a) and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (NDLEA) Cap N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the same Act.

Canadian arrested for importing drugs at Lagos airport

After the conclusion of the review of the facts of the crime, the prosecutor urged the court to convict the Canadian as charged based on the evidence placed before the court, the exhibits tendered and the guilty plea of the defendant.

As a result, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu after reviewing the facts of the case submitted by Ibrahim convicted the defendant as charged.

After listening to the allocutus by the defence counsel, Justice Dipeolu sentenced Munju to six years imprisonment on count one and five years on count two.

The judge however gave the Canadian an option of N50 million fine on each of the two counts, bringing the total fine to N100 million.

While commending the officers of the anti-drug agency involved in the arrest and prosecution of the case as well as the judiciary for speedy adjudication, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the prompt conviction and sentencing of the Canadian, as well as the stiff penalty, will send a strong warning to foreigners and others who may be contemplating bringing illicit drugs into Nigeria.

The Star