Whitish substance was pure cocaine - Standards Board official

Accra, Feb. 7, GNA - Mr James Koligu Ataki, a Principal Scientific Officer of the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), on Wednesday told the Accra Fast Track High Court hearing the alleged illegal importation of 77 parcels of cocaine into the country that the powdered substances he conducted a test on was pure cocaine.

"Using chromatography to sample the scientific test it was confirmed to be cocaine," he said adding that the purity level was 98.6 per cent. The accused crew members are Pak Bok Sil, 46, Korean Engineer; Isaac Arhin, 49, Sailor; Philip Kobina Bruce Arhin, 47, mechanic; Cui Xing Li, 44, Chinese Sailor, and Luo Yin Xing, 49, Sailor and Mr Joseph Kojo Dawson, the owner of the vessel and Director of Dashment Fishing Company Limited.

Isaac Arhin, Philip Arhin, Cui and Luo are charged with possessing narcotic drugs without authority and engaging in prohibited business. Dawson, who is being held for using his property for narcotic offence,

is facing the charge of engaging in prohibited business relating to

narcotics. All of them pleaded not guilty and are in Police custody, while the case has been adjourned to January 29, 2007.

Led in evidence by Mr William Pobi, Principal State Attorney, Mr Ataki said on July 26, 2006 his office received a box labelled the Republic versus Philip Bruce Arhin and five others, which contained 25 slabs of a whitish substance wrapped in a polythene bag

He said Detective Corporal Asante brought in the substance and he conducted a representative sample. On each of the 25 slabs was embossed a Toyota crown logo with a gross weight of 27.442 kilograms. He said the box bore a white sheet bearing the signatures of all accused person except Joseph Dawson, the Director of Dashment Fishing Company Limited and the owner of MV Benjaimin/Adede vessel. He said he and his team started working on the materials on July 27, 2006, issued their report on November 8, 2006 and tendered in the report without objection from the counsel representing the all the accused persons.

When Mr James Agalga, counsel for the second accused Pak Bok Sil, asked Mr Ataki whether before he conducted the test he had heard about the missing cocaine in the media, he replied "No, my Lord". Counsel for the Arhins, Mr Benjamin Osei-Wusu wanted to know how he came to the conclusion that all the 25 slabs contained cocaine since the test was not conducted on all. Mr Ataki said it was a representative sampling and they sampled 10 out of the 25 since they were all of the same size with the Toyota crown logo embossed on them.

He Mr Ataki was giving his evidence in chief in a case in which five of the crewmembers are allegedly carted cocaine on the MV Benjamin/Adede including the vessel owner.

The court remanded them to reappear on February 16, 2007.