We were waiting to prosecute ‘deported’ Helen Huang – Police

The Northern Regional Police command has noted they were hoping that the Chinese national who violated Ghana’s laws regarding the falling of Rosewood would be handed back to them for prosecution.

According to the crime officer of the Northern regional police, Supt. Otu Acheampong, the police had prepared charges against Helena Huang and were waiting for the court to hand her over them.

“The police had preferred charges against Helen for transporting lumber. The understanding we got from the court was that, Helen had broken some immigration laws and therefore asked that she be handed over to the Immigration officials. It was the court that handed her over to the immigration service and we were hoping that she would be brought back for prosecution. Police did not release or discharge Helena Huan. It was the court that handed her over to the Immigration officials, “ he told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Wednesday.

However, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) says they only repatriated the Chinese national only after she was discharged by a court in Tamale.

“Helena did not have any permit to operate in the kind of business she was engaged in. When we had information that Helena has been discharged by the court in Tamale, that was when we took action. We had to wait for that process to end before coming in. From our legal department, Helena Huan was discharged in Tamale,” Michael Amoako Atta, spokesperson for the GIS noted on the Morning Starr.

A notice signed by the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr Kwame Esuah Takyi, informing Huang of the decision read:” You are hereby informed that your permit to remain in Ghana has been revoked. Therefore, your continuous presence in Ghana is unlawful.”

A statement confirming the deportation, which was released in Accra on Tuesday, and signed by the Head of Public Affairs at the GIS, Mr Michael Amoako-Atta, said the GIS had also informed the relevant institutions, including the Minister of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration as well as missions abroad to refuse her visa to facilitate her entry into the country in future.

‘Rosewood Queen’

Huang was arrested in Tamale in May for transporting trucks of Rosewood lumbers and charged with possessing banned forestry products.

She was, however, declared missing some 48 hours after being granted a police Inquiry bail.

The person who stood surety for madam Huang, Mohammed Bondirgbum, was thereafter arrested and granted a ¢3,000 bail on May 13, after he failed to produce her.

She was, however, re-arrested in June.