High Court Hands 20-Year Sentence to Liberian Woman Caught With 1.9kg Cocaine

Justice Mark Ngegba of the High Court in Freetown delivered the sentence after Zainab Danzo, a hairdresser from Monrovia, pleaded guilty to transporting four compressed parcels of cocaine into the country without lawful authority.

Danzo was arrested on October 13, 2024, in Jendema Town, Pujehun District, with 1.9 kilograms of cocaine in her possession. She was charged under Section 8(a) of Sierra Leone’s National Drugs Control Act of 2008, which prohibits the unlawful possession and importation of narcotic drugs.

During the proceedings, Danzo admitted to the offence and pleaded for mercy. Her defense counsel, C. Okafor, informed the court that she is a mother of three children one of them just three months old at the time of her arrest. He appealed for a lenient sentence, noting her early guilty plea and cooperation with the court.

Justice Ngegba, however, underscored the devastating impact of drug trafficking on Sierra Leonean society. While acknowledging her remorse, he maintained that narcotics offences carry serious consequences that must serve as a deterrent.

He sentenced Danzo to 20 years imprisonment and ordered that the cocaine, tendered as evidence, be handed over to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency for destruction.

Danzo was immediately remanded to begin serving her sentence.