Alleged cocaine baron, Sheriff Asem Darkey, otherwise known as the ‘Limping Man’ has lamented in tears to the officials of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) interrogating him that he will die if he is imprisoned.
He said his current financial and physical condition is precarious and that the security agencies should have mercy on him. The Limping man said he was smartly dribbled by fellow cocaine moguls after bolting with 76 out of the 77 parcels of cocaine that were aboard the MV Benjamin Vessel in April 2006
Credible information available to The Heritage newspaper indicates that the alleged cocaine suspect claims he has since the infamous cocaine vanishing episode been rendered a very poor man with little cash to fend for himself.
He did not get a pesewa from the proceeds of the 76 missing parcels of the cocaine even though he was instrumental in their disappearance. According to him life has not been rosy to him after seeking refuge in Italy and Cote d’Ivoire.
The ‘Limping Man’ is said to have told the BNI after being picked following a tip-off by a fellow drug baron when receiving medical treatment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital that he never benefited from the deal because the drug gang diverted the cocaine and took his share away.
According to him when the substance arrived at their planned destination, he transported 76 parcels of the coke in a van to a location at East Legon. But when he returned later to check on the substance, he was told by the drug cartel that the parcels have been moved for safe keeping.
The 76 parcels, The Heritage newspaper gathered were sent to three different locations to outwit the security agencies. First, the substance was taken to a warehouse on the Spintex road and later to another hideout at Airport West. The substance was finally moved to a third location in Kumasi.
Suspect Asem Darkey subsequently escaped and occasionally journeyed from Italy to Cote d’Ivoire and Accra to demand for his share of the deal. But anytime he asked, the drug league told him to lie low until the matter, which at the time had caught the attention of the nation, cooled down.
The ‘Limping Man’ was said to have wept while confessing and claimed that he was short-changed and that he did not get a penny for the services he rendered to the drug gang.
He laments that if he had benefited from the coke deal he would rather be seeking medical attention abroad rather than the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. He is said to be grappling with kidney complications, hypertension and diabetes.
Upon arrival in the country, Mr. Darkey was grabbed by the BNI on February 2, 2012 following a tip-off by one of the drug barons who apparently thought the ‘Limping Man’ would hire mafia to avenge his being deceived by his colleagues.
The whistleblower, himself a drug king, was also afraid of being reported to the security agencies by Mr. Darkey and so had to first give him up.
Mr. Darkey is appealing for mercy and is said to be cooperating very well with the security agencies to get to the bottom of the disappearance of the 77 parcels of cocaine that rocked the nation in 2006.