Two remanded on drug charges

Two persons were on Tuesday remanded by an Accra circuit court for conspiracy to commit crime and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.

Akoto Castro Godsway, unemployed, and Ahmed Haruna, driver, were said to have in their possession seven fibre sacks containing 446 compressed slabs of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis without lawful authority.

They both pleaded not guilty to the charges but were, however, remanded by the court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri to reappear on February 17.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Abraham Annor told the court that the complainants are personnel from the Regional Police Patrol Unit in Ho, while Akoto is unemployed and lived at Abokobi Madina while Ahmed is a driver and lived at Taifa.

He said on January 25, the complainants on highway patrol duty along the Peki-Juapong trunk road stopped a land cruiser Prado vehicle at Asikuma Junction driven by Ahmed for a search.

He said the team found seven fibre sacks on the back seat of the car and when it was examined, it was found to contain 446 compressed slabs of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, a narcotic drug.

The prosecution said the two were immediately arrested. While on their way to the Regional Police Headquarters in Ho for investigations, Akoto offered the team an amount of GH¢ 3,000.00 so that they would be released but the team rejected their offer and took them to the regional headquarters for investigations.

DSP Annor said on interrogation and in their caution statements, they confessed to the crime and stated that the drugs were given to them by one Afenyo at Tsibu near Peki in the Volta Region to be delivered to someone they do not know in Accra.

He told the court that the two, in order to outwit the police at the various barriers on the Ho to Accra Highway, replaced the original registration number of the car with another one.