A 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos for importing 74 parcels of a potent synthetic cannabis strain known as Canadian Loud, totaling 35.20 kilograms.
Munju was apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on October 3, 2024, at Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during routine checks of inbound passengers.
In her post-arrest statement, Munju revealed that she had been recruited via an online platform to traffic the drugs in exchange for 10,000 Canadian dollars upon successful delivery to Lagos. She admitted that financial pressures, specifically the need to fund her Master’s degree program in Canada, motivated her to accept the risky offer.
During her arraignment before Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, Munju pleaded guilty to two charges brought against her by the NDLEA. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Prosecuting Counsel Barrister Ibrahim highlighted that Munju’s actions violated sections 20(1)(a) and 19 of the NDLEA Act, which are punishable under Section 20(2)(a).
After considering the defendant’s allocutus, the judge sentenced Munju to six years for the first count and five years for the second count.
Additionally, she was offered an alternative of a N50 million fine for each count, totaling N100 million, in lieu of the prison sentence.
