The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned five persons, including a woman, at the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly dealing in 1072.51 grammes of cocaine without lawful authority.
Prosecuting counsel, Fingere Dinneys said one of the accused persons was trying to export the banned narcotic, while the others imported it.
Four of them – Patricia Nwaobilo, Cosmos Ezeh, Ugochukwu Alexandre and Chukwuma Udemezue – were arraigned Wednesday, while Prosper Nzom was arraigned on Tuesday.
The agency said Nzom was arrested on May 22 during the outward clearance of Air France to Holland via France at the screening point of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja.
He was caught with 255 grammes of cocaine which the agency said he “exported” without lawful authority.
Nwaobilo was arrested on May 30 during the inward clearance of Qatar Airline passengers from Daha. He was accused of importing 150 grammes of cocaine.
Ezeh was caught with 1.220 kg of cocaine on June 2 during the inward clearance of Emirate Airline from Brazil at the airport’s ‘E’ arrival hall.
The agency said Ugochukwu, on May 31, during the the inward clearance of Arik Air from Angola, imported 1.290kg of cocaine without lawful authority.
NDLEA officials arrested Udemezue on May 18 during the inward clearance of Etihad Airline from Abu-Dhabi via Brazil with 665 grammes of cocaine.
The alleged offences contravene Section 11 (a) and (b) of the NDLEA Act Cap N30, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
The accused persons, who were arraigned separately, pleaded not guilty to the one-count charges.
Dinneys told the court that the agency was ready to proceed with their trial.
But Justice Mohammed Yunusa ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison pending when he will rule on their bail applications.
No comments:
Post a Comment