MPUMALANGA: The Secunda District Court has on Wednesday, 5 April 2017 handed hefty sentences to six culprits who were found guilty of manufacturing and dealing in drugs.
Chibuzor Paul Ezekware, Samuel Okafor and Goodwin Addo Abunne were each sentenced to 36 years imprisonment , Henry Ulangu Ukaegby and Innocent Akuziele will spend 16 years in jail each, while Junior Okafor was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
Ezekware, Okafor and Abunne were also ordered to pay R11 500, R4 800 and R7 000 back to the state respectively. Ukaegby and Akuziele will pay R2 600 and R1 800 back to the state respectively.
The seventh suspect’s case will go on trial at the Evander Regional Court on10 May 2017. The suspects were arrested the Hawks in Secunda and Crime Intelligence on the 18 August 2016.
The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Lieutenant General Mthandazo Ntlemeza has welcomed the sentence, saying the Hawks do not aim to arrest only but to secure convictions and ensure that justice is served. “We are clamping down on drugs and all other serious crimes and criminals must be warned that we will send them to jail for a very long time”, said Lieutenant General Ntlemeza.
