Court reviews bail conditions of alleged cocaine suspects

Accra, May 26, GNA - Six persons arrested in connection with the 71.45 kilogram's of substances believed to be cocaine seized at the Tema Port last week on Tuesday made their second appearance before an Accra Fast Track High Court.

Augustina Abu, importer, Yaw Attah Nkansah, Alfred Amedzi, Kennedy Osei, Simon Fafa Bedy, all clearing agents, and Francis Abbey, a driver, have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime by the importation of narcotic drugs.

The pleas of the accused are yet to be taken. The court, presided over Mrs Justice Irsmay Brown, however, reviewed accused persons' bail conditions following some difficulty on the part of some accused who did not possess any passport. According to the court in place of their passports accused persons were to submit their voter identity cards or any order identification cards together with two passport pictures. In addition, the court, ordered them to submit title deeds to the court's Registrar within 48 hours.

The title deeds were to be verified and authenticated by both the Court Registrar and officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB). This, the court said, should be done within 21 days. The case was adjourned to 29 May. Mr Paul Abarigah, a State Attorney, earlier told the court that the substances which had been forwarded to the Ghana Standard Board (GSB) were yet be established as cocaine. Mr Abarigah drew the court's attention to the fact that the court could not grant bail in narcotic cases.

According to the State Attorney, if the accused were granted bail they could interfere with investigation as well as witnesses, especially when the case was still under investigation. Defence counsel contended that their clients would not interfere with investigations. According to them, the accused persons, who were citizens of Ghana, were also breadwinners of their families and their incarceration would bring untold hardship on them.

They further contended that their clients were not arrested by the Police, but they voluntarily submitted themselves. Based on that, the court ruled that because the prosecution had stated that the substances were yet to be established as cocaine it could not rely on the law that prohibited the court from granting bail. On Tuesday, May 19, security personnel intercepted a 40-foot container with 61 parcels of substances believed to be cocaine at the Tema Port. The parcels were said to have been concealed in a cargo, which had been declared as chewing gum, from Ecuador in South America. The container, consigned to Augustina Abu of Abu Augustina Enterprise, was intercepted after it had gone through the scan at the port.