Alabi Tunde Lateef, a Nigerian national, has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of trafficking narcotic drugs valued at Ksh890,800.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in a statement said the suspect was sentenced by the Milimani Law Courts.
The court heard that on September 11, 2017, at the General Post Office (GPO) area in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), Lateef was found trafficking by conveying 75.4 grammes of cocaine with a street value of Ksh377,000.
On the same day, at Kasarani’s Mwiki area, he was also found trafficking by storing 102.7 grammes of cocaine worth Ksh. 513,800.
Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi handed him eight years’ imprisonment for each of the two counts, with the sentences to run concurrently, after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecution, led by Counsels Wanjiru Naomi and Nyakira Kibera, called four witnesses whose evidence was instrumental in securing the conviction.
This comes days after Salim Mwamatezo was sentenced to serve seven years in jail after pleading guilty to a drug trafficking charge.
Resident Magistrate Ruth Ogollo granted the accused an option of paying a fine of Ksh 1 million in default, serving a seven-year prison term.
The matter was mentioned three more times, with the accused maintaining his guilty plea, prompting Ogollo to sentence him accordingly.
The court was told that Mwamatezo was found with 50 large rolls of bhang, 99 cut cubes, and 49 cigarette-sized rolls — all valued at approximately KSh 40,000.
According to a pre-sentence report, the accused was a notorious drug dealer in his village and had repeatedly been warned by the local chief and village chairman to stop his activities.
However, he is reported to have bragged that no action could be taken against him, claiming protection from some police officers.
