Ejiogu Benjamin a Nigerian, sentenced to death in Vietnam for drug-smuggling

Ejiogu Benjamin Ikechukwu, a Nigerian who was arrested in 2012 for smuggling more than 3.4 kilograms of methamphetamine from Thailand into Vietnam, has been sentenced to death by a Ho Chi Minh City court.

The court, which sat in Vietnam early this week, observed that Ikechukwu committed a crime, which is considered “extremely serious” in the country.Ikechukwu was arrested on June 23, 2012 by customs officials at Tan Son Nhat International Airport with the drugs, which were hidden inside 16 metal cylinders and a laptop adapter.

He confessed that he was transporting the cylinders and adapter for a man named Onyekachi, who is still at large. This man told him that someone would find him to receive the consignment.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Death is stipulated as a punishment for those convicted of smuggling more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. It is also the maximum penalty for those found guilty of producing or selling 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics.

Death penalty statistics are not released in Vietnam but the punishment is handed down most frequently to those convicted of murder or drug-trafficking. There are currently 586 people on death row in the country.