A Nigerian, Mike Nwankwo, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a High Court in Tanzania, after he was found guilty of drug trafficking.
Nwankwo, who claimed to be a businessman dealing in used clothes in Abuja, was arrested with his Tanzanian girlfriend, Mastura Makongoro, on February 12, 2014, at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA), when a search on them revealed they had 5,126 grams of heroin they were transporting to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Mohamed Gwae, who heard the case, acquitted Makongoro, due to lack of evidence against her.
The verdict against Nwankwo and his girlfriend was handed down on Friday where Judge Gwae said the testimony of nine witnesses to the prosecution and 18 exhibits, “confirmed the indictment against the Nigerian citizen beyond any reasonable doubt.”
The prosecution in the case was led by state advocates from the National Prosecution Service (NPS), Ignas Mwinuka, while Nwankwo was represented by advocate Diana Solomoni.
During the sentencing, the court heard that Makongoro had asked Nwankwo for the sum of Sh15 million for the construction of a house, and the latter replied that he would find her a job that would provide her with the money.
Nwankwo then assigned Makongoro to transport a bag containing the drugs to Sierra Leone.
On the day of their arrest, the Nigerian was said to have escorted his girlfriend to KIA where she entered and underwent inspections and was given a boarding pass by Ethiopian Airline.
Upon completion, Makongoro who was a student at Bandari College, went to sit in the waiting room and her bag was sent to an Xray machine for inspection.
However, security officers became suspicious and called the accused to reduce some of her belongings. It was still heavier than the allowable luggage weight and the officers suspected something was hidden.
Police officers decided to tear up the bag and came across four envelopes that contained the drugs and in an initial questioning, the accused claimed the bag had been given to her by her boyfriend.
The suspect was taken to the KIA Police Station, and while she was being held there, Nwankwo returned to the scene searching for his girlfriend after he suspected something was wrong.
While at the scene, the police suspected that he was the one mentioned as the bag owner and arrested him.
Judge Gwae said he acquitted Makongoro because in the way the drugs were stored in the bag, she would not have been aware that there was anything extra in the bag.
