Discharge of sugar on "Cocaine Vessel" begins

Tema, Sept. 4, GNA - The discharge of 14,000 tonnes of sugar on MV St. Efrem, the vessel that was intercepted on Tuesday for carrying quantities of whitish substance suspected to be cocaine, started on Friday morning at about 0900 hours.

The discharge of the 280,000 bags of sugar labelled "Copersugar" would enable the Security Taskforce to ascertain whether the consignment contained more of the substance.

A Member of the Special Security Taskforce in-charge of the operation, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told the Ghana News Agency at the Port that it would take them about 20 days to fully discharge the consignment.

Hundred and sixty thousand bags representing 8,000 tonnes of the sugar consignment on the vessel were expected to be off-loaded in Ghana, while the remaining 120,000 bags or 6,000 tonnes were to be delivered to Port Matadi in Angola. The vessel came into the country on Tuesday from Brazil.

The Member said the discharge involved the loading of hired trucks with the bags of sugar from the vessel by a stevedoring company, which would then be escorted by armed military personnel to the scanner. After scanning, another escort would accompany the trucks to a designated custom bonded warehouse.

He further stated that security officials would continue to guard the warehouse until a decision was taken on what should be done with the consignment, including those to be discharged at Port Matadi. The Member confirmed that tests carried on the five sacks of cocaine weighing 165 kilogrammes, which were retrieved from MV St. Efrem on Tuesday by the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), tested positive. He, however, stated that the Taskforce was yet to receive the test result from the NACOB on the two other sacks of substances, found floating on the sea on Wednesday.