Reporter manhandled at cocaine trial

Accra, Aug. 3, GNA-Relatives of alleged cocaine suspects on Wednesday vented their anger on a TV 3 reporter by manhandling him for taking shots of the suspects in a Police van at the Cocoa Affairs Court in Accra.

As Mr Peter Adetor, the Reporter, ran to take shots of the cocaine suspects, a man shouted “we will not allow you to take the shots; we will damage to your camera”.

The situation became more serious when the man and two women pounced on Mr Adetor and held his neck.

Mr Adetor was rescued by policemen and colleagues from the media while other relatives showered insults on the media.

The accused persons were earlier put before the Osu District Magistrate Court over a drug-related offence but were admitted to bail.

Soon after that security officials rounded them up and put them before an Accra Circuit Court on Wednesday.

The five accused persons are 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 J.B., a dealer in cars.

Two other accused persons Stephen Awua Kofi Bamfo and Nana Yaw aka Baffour Gyau, aka Emmanuel Owusu, are said to be in prison custody in the United Kingdom following their arrest at Heathrow Airport.

Meanwhile two more accused persons; Hubert Laryea and Mohamoud Mufuti are at large.

The accused persons have been variously charged with conspiracy, two counts of abetment of crime, exportation of narcotic drugs, namely eight kilogrammes of cocaine and parcels Indian hemp (cannabis sativa) to the UK.

The court presided over by Mrs. Ivy Heward-Mills did not take their plea and remanded them into custody to reappear on August 17.

This was after the court had turned down a bail application put in by team of defence counsel.

Mr Ellis Owusu-Fordjour, one of the lawyers, told the court that the state had come to court under the clause of a “temporary charge” to ask for remand of the accused persons.

According to Mr Owusu-Forjour, the country’s Constitution and subsidiary legislation did not know what a temporary charge was.

He noted that the case had travelled an unpleasant route and it was not strange that some of the accused persons were granted bail.

Mr Owusu-Forjour was of the view that in a situation where a case before the court did not support the facts, the court could grant bail.

He said an accused person is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty by the court adding, until that was done, their freedom should not be restricted and they should be treated with dignity.

Counsel said if the court would not grant them bail, the court should remand them into police or prison custody so that counsel could have access to them.

“If the court does not allow them to be remanded into police or prison custody, we will ask them not to give their statements to the Police,” counsel contended.

Mr Asiamah Sampong, Principal State Attorney, however, prayed the court to remand the accused persons pending their extradition to the United Kingdom to stand trial.

According to him officials from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), UK, are in the country to assist their Ghanaian counterparts in investigations.

The facts as narrated by Mr Sampong are that the suspects are all Ghanaians and members of alleged illicit drug syndicate.

According to him, the accused persons also operated as narcotic drug exporters and pushers from Accra to the UK.

Mr Sampong said between November, 2010 and June 2011, the suspects operated jointly and severally to send cocaine and cannabis from Ghana to the UK on British Airways using “a 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 kiogrammes of cocaine from Ghana to UK.

Their activities, Mr Sampong said, were monitored by security agents in Ghana and SOCA and three of the accused persons were arrested in the UK and later five others in Ghana.

He said thorough searches conducted in their homes revealed a number of documents and electronic equipment which were pertinent to the trial.