Court slaps Nigerian with K1.5m fine over illicit drugs

A court in Lilongwe has slapped a Nigerian national with K1.5 million fine for possessing cocaine.

A Nigerian national, Chima Okoyi, 35, was fined the K1.5 million after being convicted of possessing 17 blisters of cocaine.

If he fails to pay, Okoyi will serve a 12-month- jail term with hard labour.

According to Lilongwe Police spokesperson, Hastings Chigalu, Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate James Mankhwazi considered that Okoyi was the first offender and that the quantity of cocaine was small.

But Mankhwazi earlier agreed with the state prosecutor Assistant Superintendent Dalireni Kalanguka that the convict deserved a stiffer punishment; saying cases of that nature are now rampant with the Nigerian nationals topping the list.

Police in Lilongwe arrested at Okoyi on August 27, 2022 at his house in Area 49, Gulliver where they found the drugs hidden under his bed.