24-year-old Thai lady bags 5 yrs jail term for importing 46.60 Kg of Cannabis Sativa
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Justice Ambrose Lewis Alagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday sentenced a 24-year-old Thai lady, Patthaphi Wimonnat to 5 years imprisonment or a fine of N3 million in lieu of imprisonment for importing 46.60 kg of Cannabis Sativa
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had through its counsel, Abu Ibrahim Esq. filed a criminal charge against Patthaphi Wimonnat who was arrested with 46.60 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa.
According to the charge number FHC/L/269c/2025, Wimonnat a 24-year-old Thai lady, was arrested for attempting to smuggle into Nigeria 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 46.60 kilograms through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
The convict was arrested on Thursday February 20, 2025 during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha, Qatar at the Arrival Hall, Terminal 2 of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos.
The anti-narcotic agency submitted that Patthaphi Wimonnat confessed during her arrest that a drug cartel recruited her to carry the drug and promised to pay her $3,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit drug consignment in Nigeria.
When she was arraigned on Friday March 14 before Justice Allagoa, she pleaded guilty to the offence of trafficking in Cannabis Sativa a drug similar to Cocaine, Heroin and LSD, an offence punishable under the NDLEA Act.
Consequently the prosecutor, Abu Ibrahim reviewed the fact of the case and urged the court to convict her based on her admittance of guilt, evidence adduced by the prosecution as well as the provision of ACJA . The trial judge consequently convicted her .
Following her conviction, the convict’s counsel Chief Benson Ndakara in his allocutus pleaded for mercy on her behalf.
Ndakara urged the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that the convict was deceived into making such a mistake. He further stated that the convict is now remorseful and would do something differently if given a second chance.
After listening to the allocutus, Justice Allagoa sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment or a fine of N3,000,000 in lieu of imprisonment.
