THE parcels of a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine, packaged to look like Bibles, and intercepted by the Tema police recently are not cocaine after all.
They turned out to be a mixture of corn flour, sand and starch a report by the Ghana Standards Board revealed in Accra yesterday.
Acting Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, Deputy Superintendent Kwasi Ofori, disclosed this at a news conference in Accra yesterday called to announce the outcome of laboratory tests conducted on the substance.
The Tema police on August 24 intercepted 18 parcels of a whitish substance packaged in the form of Bibles. They were found in an abandoned Opel Kadet car.
DSP Ofori said that the police suspect that what happened was one of the tricks that drug couriers adopt to defraud fellow traffickers.
He said that the police have mounted a search for those who are behind it, adding that "whether the substances were cocaine or not, it was an attempt to commit crime or deceive the police, all of which are against the laws of the state."
DSP Ofori said enquiries at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the identity of the car owner revealed the number of the vehicle was fake. The number was that of a Mercedes Benz car.
Again, he said, when the chassis number and other documents of the vehicle were cross checked with the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service they were found to be non existent in their records.
DSP Ofori said enquiries at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for the identity of the car owner revealed the number of the vehicle was fake. The number was that of a Mercedes Benz car.
Again, he said, when the chassis number and other documents of the vehicle were cross checked with the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service they were found to be non existent in their records.
DSP Ofori said the Organised Crime Unit of the Police Criminal Investigations Department is doing its best to get to the bottom of the matter.
The Tema Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, John Kudalor, appealed to the general public to volunteer information which may lead to the apprehension of criminals.
He asked the public to be wary of the modus operandi that criminals have adopted to outwit unsuspecting people, adding “sometime ago, it was ordinary sand that fraudsters were passing off as gold dust, brass and other precious minerals to deceive people.”
