Guinean gets 18 years for dealing in Cocaine

Accra, July 25, GNA - An Accra Regional Tribunal on Tuesday sentenced a 34-year old self-employed Guinean to 18 years' imprisonment with hard labour for dealing in narcotic drugs.

The Tribunal chaired by Mr Justice Frank Manu found Amadou Lamarana Diallo guilty of attempting to export a quantity of cocaine weighing 289.17 grams and convicted him accordingly.

The facts of the case as narrated by the Prosecution when Diallo first appeared before the Tribunal on September 14, 2005 were that on the evening of April 2, 2005, Diallo arrived at the Kotoka International Airport to board a flight to Italy.

The Prosecution said while the convict was going through pre-boarding formalities, officials from the Narcotics Control Board on duty suspected him of carrying narcotic substances. Upon a search on Diallo, the officials found concealed on him a package containing 29 pellets of whitish substance suspected to be cocaine, which he claimed was juju.

Diallo claimed that he bought the juju from one Wusuman at Cantonments for the treatment of his sick child back home, but could not lead the Police to arrest him. Following an analytical examination the substance tested positive for cocaine.