D-Day for £71m cocaine baron

An Accra high court presided over by Justice Merley wood, is set to deliver a ruling on whether or not 42-year-old David Philip McDermott the British national wanted over an alleged importation of ??£71 million cocaine into the United Kingdom (UK) should be extradited.

The accused, aka David Smith, through his layer Victor Adawuudu, is up in arms with the state over attempts to extradite him to the UK.

David was arrested in Ghana in a joint operation involving the bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and Britain’s National Crime Agency.

According to Victor, the state had breached the extradition procedures with impunity, insisting that the extradition treaty the prosecution so relied on had been repealed.

He said the court ought to boldly decline the invitation by the state to extradite his client because the court has the jurisdiction to hear the case for which David is to be sent to the UK. Richard Gyambibi, senior state Attorney, disagreed, contending that there is an extradition treaty between Ghana and the UK.

He said the state had not said that the accused has committed any offence in Ghana but was been sent to the UK to stand trial.

It may be recalled that the state last month surprisingly dropped its earlier charge of unlawfully undertaking prohibited business related narcotics in Ghana and the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2016 against David.

The state subsequently filed a Nolle Prosequi at the registry of the court where David was been tried for narcotics-related offence.

The Attorney General (AG), through a letter dated march 21, 2016 signed by Yvonne Atakora Oboubisa, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), stated emphatically that the case involving the accused person should be discontinued, although he had denied the charges.