Court discharges cocaine suspects for want of prosecution

Accra, Sept. 26 GNA - The family members of the five cocaine suspects whose arrest and trial generated a lot of controversy, on Monday become ecstatic when the Accra Circuit Court trying the case, discharged the suspects for want of prosecution.

The court's decision to discharge the accused persons followed the prosecution's inability to proceed with the trial. The families, who could not hide their joy at the release of their lov= e ones, praised and thanked God for the Court's decision. The suspects were Kevin Sarpong-Boateng, a travel and tour operator, Eric Owusu Manu, a British Airways Manager at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Daniel Klottey, an aircraft technician, Frank Bruno Kpakpo, a trader and Daniel Gyabaah, aka JB, a car dealer. Two other suspects, Stephen Awua Kofi Bamfo (aka Baffour Gyau) and Nan= a Yaw (aka Emmanuel Owusu), are in prison custody in the United Kingdom following their arrest at Heathrow Airport, whiles Hubert Laryea and Mohamoud Mufuti are at large.

The accused persons have been charged with conspiracy, two counts of abetment of crime, exportation of narcotic drugs, namely eight kilogrammes of cocaine and parcels of Indian hemp (Cannabis Sativa) to the UK. The five suspects who had been in prison custody for the past six week= s were to be extradited to the United Kingdom (UK) to face trial in that country.

A team from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the UK was in the country to assist the security agencies to investigate the matter. Mr K. Asiamah Sampong, a Principal State Attorney told the court presided over by Mr Eric Kyei Baffour that he had called the BNI to find ou= t the status of the case.

He said the BNI told him that the office had called London for information on the suspects and that it was waiting for a reply. According to Mr Sampong, the reply from London would take some time so the trial judge could grant bail to the suspects on their terms but should not discharge the accused persons.

Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjour, Counsel for the accused persons, prayed the court to discharge the suspects or admit them to self recognizance bail. He said the suspects had been remanded into custody since their arrest in July this year and were on the verge of losing their jobs. Mr Eric Kyei Baffour, the trial judge in his ruling said the accused persons had been in custody since July but the prosecution was not ready to proceed with the trial.

He said even though the prosecution wanted the suspects to be given bail the court could not grant them bail in a narcotic case. He said the court was using its own discretion to discharge the suspects for want of prosecution.

Mr Kyei Baffour said the prosecution could bring the suspects back for trial when it was ready.

The facts as narrated by Mr Sampong are that the accused persons, all Ghanaians, are members of an alleged illicit drug syndicate. According to him, the accused persons also operated as narcotic drug exporters and pushers from Accra to the United Kingdom (UK). Mr Sampong said between November, 2010 and June 2011, the accused persons operated jointly and severally to send cocaine and cannabis from Ghana to the UK on British Airways flight using 93a shared responsibility method known as pushing".

He said each of the accused persons played a specified role in the transaction from KIA and on the plane to Heathrow Airport. According to Mr Sampong, initial investigations revealed that in October 2010, Sarpong-Boateng contacted Mufuti, now on the run, to export eight kilogrammes of cocaine from Ghana to UK.

Their activities, Mr Sampong said, were monitored by security agents i= n Ghana and SOCA and three of them were arrested in UK and later five others in Ghana. He said thorough searches conducted in their homes revealed some documents and electronic equipment, which were pertinent to the trial.