Okeke had earlier been arrested after he was caught with Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) liquid worth Rs 2.7 lakh, in Siolim, in 2015.
A court in Panaji, India has sentenced a Nigerian footballer, Amachukwu Okeke, to 10 years imprisonment for possessing narcotics in commercial quantity.
Okeke was also fined Rs 1 lakh (about N520,000) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS).
The court submitted, “…prosecution has succeeded in proving that the report of the expert confirms presence of LSD in the exhibits and that it was commercial quantity,” the court held.
Times of India reported that Okeke had earlier been arrested after he was caught with Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) liquid worth Rs 2.7 lakh, in Siolim, in 2015.
The court reportedly gave him the minimum penalty required for possessing commercial quantity of narcotics.
The counsel for the accused argued that Okeke is a footballer and has a few years to play and earn a livelihood for his family and is not convicted by any other court, but was falsely implicated by Kochi police in some other case.
The court noted that this was his second case. He was arrested in 2005 for possessing cocaine, but was acquitted by the court. When released on bail, he left the state and was involved in another drug case filed before Chennai police, where investigation is going on.
Counsel for the accused, M D’Souza, argued that the substance is liquid and could not be weighed in grammes and there was no authorisation to investigate into the matter and the investigating officer did not attach the accused’s clothes.
Public prosecutor, Anna Mendonza, submitted to the court that the substance seized was commercial quantity LSD and the investigating officer complied with the NDPS Act.