Two sentenced to ten years each for possessing narcotic drugs

Fiapre, May 5, GNA - Two farmers at Badu in Brong Ahafo have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each in hard labour by a Magistrate's court at Fiapre, near Sunyani, for possessing narcotic drugs. Kwame Nsiah, 30 and Kwabena Boa, 35, pleaded not guilty to the charge of possessing narcotic drugs, but the court after hearing the case found them guilty.

Chief Inspector Alex Fosu, prosecutor, told the court presided by Mr. Benjamin Osei that at about 0745 hours on November 25 last year, five officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on duty on the Techiman-Kumasi highway, stopped a Metro Mass Transport (MMT) bus with registration number AW2587Y loaded with passengers.

During a search on the bus the officers found a suit case and two fertilizer sacks that contained some dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, which the farmers claimed ownership. The prosecutor said the farmers were immediately arrested and together with the items handed over to the police. He said the dried leaves were sent to a laboratory in Accra for further investigations and based on the result of the test the two were charged with the offence.