High Court Judge Honourable Justice Mark Ngegba has sentenced two Liberian nationals to thirty-five (35) years’ imprisonment each for trafficking and possession of over 2,000 tablets of tramadol, a controlled substance under Sierra Leonean law.
The convicts, Annet Maflah and Lovetta Maflah, both sisters and residents of Zorzor, Monrovia, Liberia, were found guilty on four counts, including unlawful possession, dealing in, and transportation of a prohibited drug, contrary to Sections 8(a), 7(c), and 7(b) of the National Drugs Control Act, 2008 (Act No. 10 of 2008).
According to court records, on 16 November 2025, the two women were arrested in Koidu Town, Kono District, in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province, while in possession of 2,130 tablets of tramadol, weighing approximately 20.4 kilograms, without lawful authority.
During their allocutus, both convicts appealed to the Court for leniency. However, Justice Ngegba, while acknowledging their cooperation and the fact that they did not waste the Court’s time, underscored the severity of their crimes and the devastating impact of illicit drug use on Sierra Leone’s youth and society at large.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Ngegba stated that the offences posed a significant threat to public health and social stability, and therefore warranted a firm and deterrent sentence. Consequently, both Annet Maflah and Lovetta Maflah were sentenced to thirty-five (35) years in prison each.
