LAGOS – A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday sentenced a 26-year-old apprentice, John Daniel to two years imprisonment for trafficking in hemp.
Daniel, who was arraigned on June 30, was convicted on charge of unlawfully dealing in 14.3 kg of cannabis sativa also known as hemp.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge following which Justice Ibrahim Buba adjourned the case till Oct.8 for reviewing of facts and sentencing.
At the resumed hearing, the Prosecutor, Mr Fingere Dinneys, called a witness, Mr Taupyen Sunday, a Deputy Superintendent of Narcotics at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). [eap_ad_2] Sunday told the court that the convict was assigned to him for investigation on alleged drug trafficking.
The witness said that a voluntary statement of the convict was sent to his section alongside a drug analysis report and a bulk exhibit recovered from him and contained in a big brown envelope.
The prosecutor had told the court that the convicted was apprehended with the hard drug on Sept. 23, 2013 at the Ghetto Area of Jass 38, Lekki, Lagos, on a tip off.
According to the prosecutor, the substance recovered from Daniel was later confirmed through a laboratory analysis to be cannabis sativa a substance similar to cocaine.
The offence contravened Section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act, Cap N30, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
Daniel, who appeared in court without a legal representation maintained his guilty plea, urging the court to be lenient with him.
The judge, consequently, sentenced him to two years imprisonment, saying that it would commence from the date of his arrest.
“This court has considered the convict’s plea for mercy and the fact that he is remorseful.
“Accordingly, the convict is hereby sentenced to a term of two years imprisonment with effect from Sept. 23, 2013, the date of his arrest,” he said.
The judge also ordered the NDLEA to destroy the exhibits recovered from the convict. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]
