US Court Jails Ghanaians For Drug Trafficking

Two Ghanaians who operated an international drug syndicate in the United States of America have been sentenced to a total of 46 years by a US Court in Trenten, New Jersey.

The convicts, Osman Garba and Felix Yaw Oppong, were jailed 26 years and 20 years respectively.

A third accused person, Joe Mensah, was expected to be sentenced on October 20, this year while a fourth member of the syndicate, Yaw Owusu Amponsah, alias Yaw Osu Amponsa, who escaped to Ghana while awaiting sentence, has been rearrested and is set to be extradited to the US.

They had all pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess, distribute and export cocaine, contrary to Sections 21, 846 and 963 of the US Code.

It would be recalled that Osman Garba, who is believed to be the leader of the syndicate, was extradited to the US in early 2001 after he was arrested in Ghana, following a request by the US authorities.

A source at the Narcotics Control Board, who confirmed this in an interview, said the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the US had started the investigation into the operations of the Newark-based syndicate, known as the Garba Organisation in drug circles in 1996.

It said the investigation code-named, “Operation London Bridge”, established that the Garba Organisation was responsible for the transportation of large quantities of heroin into the US from Ghana by a network of West African couriers.