Accra, July 25, GNA - A Supreme Court judge on Friday tasked appropriate agencies to investigate the whereabouts of five slabs of cocaine missing from the Narcotics Control Board that was seized from the MV Benjamin vessel.
The five slabs were part of 77 slabs shipped into the country two years ago. Handing a 25-year jail term each on five persons including the vessel owner who were dragged before the Fast Track High Court for their various roles in importing the drugs, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, said he found the disappearance of the five out of 30 slabs of cocaine in the custody of the Narcotics Control Board incomprehensible. "I find the conduct of the NACOB incomprehensible and charge the appropriate agencies to pursue the whereabouts of the five missing slabs of cocaine in the custody of the board," the trial judge declared. Joseph Kojo Dawson is the vessel owner while the crew include Isaac Arhin, a 49-year-old sailor, Philip Kobina Bruce Arhin, a 47 year-old-mechanic, Cui Xing Li, a 44-year old Chinese sailor and Luo Yin Xing, a 49-year-old Chinese sailor.
Isaac Arhin, Philip Arhin, Cui and Luo are charged for possessing narcotic drugs without authority and engaging in prohibited business. Dawson, who is also the Managing Director of Dashment Company Limited, indirectly without lawful authority and with the intention of facilitating an enterprise relating to narcotic drugs, did allow one Asem Darke, a.k.a. Sheriff, to use his vessel (MV Benjamin/MV Adede II) to import 77 parcels, each containing 30 kilograms of cocaine, into the country without a license issued by the Ministry of Health. They all pleaded not guilty and have since 2006 been remanded into prison custody.
The court on October 16, 2007 acquitted and discharged Pak Bok Sil, a 46 year-old Korean Engineer because the prosecution failed to make a case against him.
The court asked the five other accused persons to open their defence after the prosecution had called 13 witnesses to make a case against them.
The two-year trial would be the last in a series of the cases in the MV Benjamin saga, which has already sent five persons - Kwabena Amaning, aka Tagor, Alhaji Issa Abbas and three policemen - to jail. On two vehicles which belong to Asem Darkey, the mastermind of the carting of the 76 parcels of cocaine, the court said it could not make an order of forfeiture on the vehicles adding that Darkey had not been put before him.
It could also not make orders of forfeiture in respect of the MV Benjamin vessel, whose real owner it could not determine. In a plea of mitigation, Mr D.K. Ameley, Counsel for Dawson, intimated to the court that his client was a first offender and the company in question (Dashment Company Limited) had collapsed. Mr Osei Wusu, Counsel for Philip Bruce Arhin and Isaac prayed the court to temper justice with mercy as they had young children. He further prayed the court to give them the minimum sentence, as a long sentence would bring about untold hardships on their respective families.
Defence counsel said they would appeal against the court's decision.
Relatives of the convicts broke down in tears when sentence was pronounced.
Before reading its judgment, the court said it had taken into consideration the harm narcotic drugs had caused the nation. Addressing the convicts in turn, the judge rejected the defence of Dawson saying his action concerning the execution of the Charter Agreement (CA) on the vessels raised serious questions. The court quizzed why Dawson failed to append his signature to the agreement but rather asked his father, who was advisor to the Dashment Company, to execute the agreement.
According to the court, Dawson, who did not take part in the carting of the cocaine, knew why he declined to sign the agreement. The court wondered why one of the parcels was left on board the vessel as well as the payment of the charter fees were not done before Sheriff used the vessel for what the court termed "illegal business". It further said some activities of the drug trade were paid in kind, stressing that was the reason why one parcel was left on board the vessel.
In the case of Isaac, the court described his evidence as unacceptable as he lied on oath, adding that he took part in the carting of the 76 parcels of the cocaine which was offloaded unto small boats. It further noted that he had suppressed the truth and wondered why he could not distinguish how cartons of fish and cocaine could look like since he had been a sailor for 20 years.
The court said, it found untrue Isaac's assertion that because the captain of the vessel, during the voyage had threatened to kill him, he could not say anything during the operation.
"He was at liberty to tell the truth when the ship docked at Tema but continued to suppress the truth about the ill-fated voyage and the cartons of cocaine."
In the case of Philip, the mechanic, the court noted that he was only covering up his guilt as he had denied any knowledge of ever carting cartons of cocaine into the hatch.
The court found that he took part in the loading of the parcels of cocaine unto the two small boats and changing the name of MV Benjamin to Adede II.
According to the court, he only concocted his evidence and was deliberately covering up. On Cui, the court said because he took part in the carting of the cocaine, he prevented security personnel from going to the hatch, which contained the cocaine.
The court noted that the evidence of Cuo that he only went on board for food was "just to mislead the court" and rejected his defence and convicted him accordingly.
According to the prosecution, Dawson was the Managing Director of Dashment Company Limited who owned the vessel MV Benjamin. On February 6, 2006 the vessel set sail and on the high seas, the crew met another vessel, which discharged cartons of cocaine into it and MV Benjamin was renamed Adede II in Monrovia. The cartons of cocaine were later off-loaded into two small boats and sent to an unknown destination.
When the vessel docked at Tema breakwaters, security agencies arrested the crew and when the vessel was searched one carton containing 30 slabs was retrieved from the hatch.
