Four traders in Anambra State have been sentenced to six years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Awka over fake drugs.
The convicts, Anayo Okoye, Ifeanyi Onuoha, Chukwudozie Eze and Okechukwu Nwafor were found guilty of possessing and selling counterfeit and substandard drugs bearing forged trademarks.
They were to serve 18 months each in prison.
The lawyer to the convicts, E. O. Ego had asked the court to temper justice with mercy, saying the convicts were first offenders and had families to cater for.
Delivering the judgement, Justice A. Abubakar held that the accused/defendants should serve a prison term of 18 months each .
He ordered the jail term to run concurrently, as one of the convicts had already been in detention for about five years.
The prosecutor, a zonal legal officer, Federal Ministry of Justice, Enugu, Mr. Nwokoro Emeka Emmanuel, described the judgement as a step in the right direction.
He said, “The judgment is a step in the right direction because that will send a warning signal to all those out there peddling fake drugs to the society.
“I do know that a lot of people have died as a result of fake drugs and this judgment will help in stopping that. We are there to ensure that people are safe in the society.”
The convicts had earlier been arraigned in a Federal High Court, Lagos before the case was transferred to Federal High Court in Awka.