Jailed drug trafficker bags 20 years for fresh offence

A Federal High Court, Lagos on Thursday sentenced a 40-year-old man, Matthew Mgbeike, to 20 years imprisonment for drug trafficking.

Mgbeike, who had earlier been convicted on May 31, 2013, is currently serving three years jail term for a similar offence.

Justice Ibrahim Buba on Thursday sentenced the convict to 20 years imprisonment on one count of importing a restricted narcotic, Heroine.

The convict was said to have earlier jumped bail after his arraignment on  December 9, 2010.

He was later re-arrested for committing a fresh offence using a different name, Aliu Aminu. He was tried and jailed.

On Thursday, Justice Buba jailed him for the previous offence after the convict changed his earlier “not guilty” plea to “guilty”.

The judge held, “Following the plea of the accused, he is hereby found guilty and convicted as charged.

“The accused is not a first time offender, as he had been previously convicted by a court of law.

“The convict is not remorseful, and deserves no mercy, and so, he is hereby sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without option of fine.

“His sentence shall start running from May 31, 2013.”

The convict’s wife, who was in court with their two children, wept profusely, pleading with the judge as soon as the judgment was handed down.

But the judge asked the defence lawyer to caution the woman, saying, “Tell the woman to stop dramatising in court or else she will join her husband.”

The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Emmanuel Vembe, had told the court that the convict was first arrested at the Murtala Mohammed Airport on October 17, 2010.

He said about 3.150kg of Heroine was recovered from the convict during the inward clearance of passengers on board a Qatar Airline flight from Dubai.

Justice Buba had granted convict bail in the sum of N1m with one surety in like sum.

Mgbeike jumped bail and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest on April 10, 2013.

After he was re-arrested in May 2013, he was arraigned for fresh charges on May 24, 2013, before another judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, under the name, Aliu Aminu.