By HeapNews
A Federal High Court in Lagos on October 23, 2024, sentenced 41-year-old Canadian Adrienne Munju to 11 years in prison for attempting to smuggle synthetic cannabis into Nigeria. Munju was convicted of importing 74 parcels of a high-potency strain known as “Canadian Loud,” weighing 35.20 kilograms, without lawful authority. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) seized the illicit consignment on October 3, 2024, at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu presided over the case, which included two charges under the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act. Munju pleaded guilty to both counts, with the court sentencing her to six years on one charge and five years on the other. She was also given the option to pay a combined fine of N100 million to avoid jail time. The judge cited sections 20(1)(a) and 19 of the NDLEA Act, stating that Munju’s actions violated Nigerian law on drug importation and possession.
The NDLEA’s prosecutor, Barrister Abu Ibrahim, presented evidence including Munju’s suitcases, her Canadian passport, confessional statements, lab reports, and samples of the seized drug. Angela Mba, an Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics with the NDLEA, testified that Munju had attempted to conceal the drugs in her luggage. Munju later confessed that she accepted a $10,000 offer from an online recruiter to transport the drug to Nigeria to help finance her master’s degree program in Canada.
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Following the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and CEO Mohamed Buba Marwa commended the officers involved in the case and expressed approval of the expedited court proceedings. “This conviction and penalty send a clear message against drug smuggling into Nigeria,” Marwa stated.