More suspects to face cocaine trial

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - More suspects would be prosecuted at the Fast Track High Court alongside the two Venezuelans busted with 588 kilograms of cocaine at East Legon in November 2005.

Ms Gertrude Aikins, Chief State Attorney, told the Fast Track High Court on Monday that "there have been certain developments and we have to take measures and change the charge sheet".

Ms Aikins said the circumstances had changed drastically adding: "We are adding more people to the charge sheet."

The case was, therefore, adjourned to November 2, 2006 as a result of the development.

Joel Meija Duarte Moises, aka Joel Mella, a 35-year-old machines operator, and Italo Gervasio Rosero, alias Italio Cabeza Castillo, a 38-year-old businessman, are the two people standing trial now at the court.

They have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, importing narcotic drug without lawful authority and possessing narcotic drug without lawful authority. Vasquez Gerado Duarte David, aka Bude or Shamo, is at large.

Counsel for Rosero, Mr. Koblah Senanu obliged to the new date saying: "I have no objection since the circumstances have been explained."

The court presided over by Mr. Justice E. Ayebi held on to its earlier ruling declining bail to the accused persons.

The case of the prosecution is that on November 24, 2005, a team of detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service acting upon a tip off proceeded to house number 348 at Mempasem, near East Legon in Accra, and met Moises.

He was arrested and he led the Police to a room where three bottles of ammonia used to turn cocaine into crack, a machine used in compressing the cocaine, 13 pieces of gloves and a quantity of plastic wrappers were found.

The prosecution said brown solution tapes, a filtering bottle used in filtering and sniffing cocaine, an exercise book used in recording the names of people who had purchased and had been supplied with the drugs were recovered and two Nokia phones were also found.

The prosecutor said the police, thereafter, peeped into a room and saw some cartons but Moises refused to surrender the keys to the room.

The police broke into the room and found that the cartons were compressed cocaine.

The prosecution said Moises confessed that it was Shamo, who invited him to Ghana and he voluntarily showed the police where the rest of the 588 kilograms of cocaine was stored.

The East Legon cocaine case was one of the cocaine-related issues that the Justice Georgina Wood Committee investigated.