Prisoner caught with Indian hemp

Kofi Joe, an ex-convict, who just finished a six-year jail term at the Ankaful Prisons in the Central Region, has been arraigned at a circuit court in Cape Coast for possessing narcotic drug without authority.

He had pleaded not guilty and has been remanded into prisons custody until March 2.

Joe was found with the substance in 2009 whilst in prison and was brought to court on Friday to face the charge after serving his sentence.

Prosecuting, a state attorney, Mr. Ben Agyinfra told the court presided over by Mrs. Florence Kai Otoo that an officer on duty ordered all inmates to get inside their cells that fateful day but Kofi Joe could not be found.

Joe was later found hiding in an officers’ toilet but took to his heels upon seeing the officer.

Mr Agyinfra said after he was apprehended, Joe attempted swallowing a tied black polythene bag he was holding but could not and later when the bag was searched 17 bundles of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, which tested positive at the Police Forensic Lab was found.

The accused served the six-year term in prison for destroying his friend’s properties after a fight.