Man gets 10 years for expelling 54 pellets of cocaine

Accra, Aug. 10, GNA - A Nigerian who pleaded guilty for expelling 54 pellets of cocaine was on Friday sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal.

Mmakaogu Nonsu was charged with attempted exportation of narcotic drugs and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority. The case for the prosecution was that on August 23, 2006, at about 2120 hours, Nonsu arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to board an Alitalia flight to Athens, Greece.

While going through boarding formalities, personnel of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) on duty at the Kotoka International Airport suspected him of carrying drugs in his stomach. The NACOB personnel escorted him to the 37 Military Hospital for an X-ray examination, which revealed that he had foreign materials in his stomach.

Prosecution said Nonsu expelled 54 pellets of whitish substances, which proved positive of cocaine, weighing 806.70 grams. When Nonsu was interrogated, he said he received the drugs from one Yellow, a Nigerian to be delivered to someone in Greece for a fee of 4,000 Euros.

He however, failed to assist the Police to apprehend Yellow.