Brazil-Based Nigerian Sentenced 10 Years For Cocaine Trafficking

Ernest Nnajuiba Ukechukwu, a Nigerian national residing in Brazil, was sentenced to ten years in prison by an Accra High court for possession and attempted smuggling of 16568.83 grams of cocaine into Ghana.

Francis Opoku Amoah, Acting Director, Public Affairs and International Relations of Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission, said in a statement on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, that the Brazil resident was apprehended at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

On July 13, he was condemned to a minimum of ten years in hard labour and fined ten thousand penalty units, for which he would serve three (3) extra years in default. The sentence is meant to run simultaneously.

The criminal was apprehended by NACOC officers in the arrival hall of Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on December 11, 2022, while going through arrival formalities.

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Officials picked him up as part of their daily routine and discovered that his narrations were distorted, prompting further checks on his bags, revealing the concealed shipment in his luggage.

Mr Ukechukwu was charged with six (6) counts of narcotic offences connected to the illegal importation and possession of narcotic drugs.

He was arraigned before the Accra High Court’s Criminal Court Division, where he pleaded guilty to all six counts and was therefore convicted on his plea by the court presided over by Her Lordship Mary Ekue Yanzuh.

The Court further ordered the destruction of the exhibit, which was carried out the same day by NACOC investigators in the presence of the court Registrar, State prosecutors, and defence counsel at approximately 1433hrs.

“The Commission reiterates its commitment to upholding its mandate to protect the public from the trade and usage of illegal narcotics to maintain public safety, hence the facilitation of the sentencing,” NACOC said in the statement.

“The possession, use, and transportation of illicit drugs without lawful authorization are still illegal and punishable under sections 40 (1) and 41 (1) of the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020, (Act 1019).”