Taxi driver remanded over narcotics

A taxi driver, Nathan Otoo has been remanded by an Accra Circuit Court into Police custody for possessing narcotic drug.

The accused pleaded not guilty and would reappear on Tuesday May 8.

Chief Inspector K. Adu told the court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh that the complainant General Corporal John Agyekum is a Police Officer with the Rapid Deployment Force Unit at the Police Headquarters.

He said on April 17 at about 0530 hours, the complainant after close of work was on his way home when he spotted the accused in front of the National Ambulance Service building holding a black polythene bag he became suspicious and demanded to know from him, the contents but he told it contains his shirt.

He said the accused then boarded a commercial vehicle towards La but complainant still having doubt about him chased him with his motorbike, and stopped the vehicle in front of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The Prosecution said the complainant then went to the back seat of the vehicle, where the suspect was sitting and asked him to open the polythene bag, so that, he could ascertain what it contains and the complainant found quantity of plant materials wrapped with Ghanaian Times News Paper, in three folds suspected to be Indian hemp, a narcotic drug.

“Complainant arrested suspect together with the plant materials and handed same to Police for investigations,” he added.

During interrogations, the accused told the Police in his caution statement that, he was going to use the said plant materials to prepare tea, a stuff, he has been consuming.

The plant materials were sealed in his presence to be forwarded to the Police Forensic Science Laboratory for test and report.