Court sentences Nigerian footballer to death in Vietnam

A Nigerian footballer, Theophilus Ugwu has been sentenced to death for smuggling nearly six kilos of methamphetamine from Cambodia to Vietnam.

Ugwu, aged 23, was charged with “illegal trafficking of narcotic substances” by the People’s Court of Tay Ninh.

It was gathered that the police found Ugwu transporting 12 bags containing meth from Cambodia to Vietnam in Tay Ninh’s Ben Cau District on March 8, 2020.

The meth weighed around 5.92 kilograms.

According to Thanh Nien Newspaper, Ugwu stated that he came from Nigeria to Cambodia in February last year as a soccer player, adding that in March, he became acquainted with another African, who promised to help him play for a famous Cambodian club.

It was further learnt that on March 8, the man hired the Nigerian footballer to deliver a bag containing the drugs from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Tay Ninh borders both HCMC and Phnom Penh.

The Nigerian footballer was said to have accepted the deal for $1,000 but was eventually busted by police as he tried to smuggle the drugs into Vietnam through less-traveled paths.

In court, Ugwu, however, said he did not know the bag contained drugs.

The repeated seizure of huge amounts of narcotics has occurred despite Vietnam having some of the world’s toughest drug laws.

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