I saw 5 boats offload 'fish'

January 31, 2008 (Page 3)

ONE of the crew members on board the MV Benjamin, the vessel which was allegedly used to cart 77 parcels of cocaine, told the Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday that he saw five boats offloading cartons of “fish” into the vessel in Liberian waters in April 2006.
Isaac Arhin, the crew member, said the Captain of the MV Benjamin, wielding a gun, ordered him (Isaac) and other crew members to go into their cabins before the “fish” was offloaded.
Isaac was giving his evidence in-chief in the case in which he, his brother, Philip Bruce Arhin, Joseph Kojo Dawson, the owner of the vessel, as well as Cui Xian Li and Luo Yin Xing, both Chinese, have been accused of playing various roles in the importation of the cocaine.
He said he witnessed the offloading of the cartons from a small window in his cabin.
The accused persons have been charged with various counts of using property for narcotic offences, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotics and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Each of them has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in prison custody.
Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr Osei Wusu, Isaac informed the court that one of the boats kept surveillance, while the remaining five offloaded the cartons of “fish”, which later turned out to be cocaine, into the MV Benjamin.
The accused person said after the boats had offloaded the cartons of “fish”, the next thing he realised was that the vessel had arrived at the shores of Tema.
On arriving in Tema, Isaac said, a man called Mr Pak, the Captain and another person he called Killer disembarked from the vessel after another boat had arrived to collect the “fish” from the MV Benjamin.
Arhin further stated that the next day after the arrival of the vessel, a naval ship docked close to it and a former official of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Mr Ben Ndego, and other security officials searched the ship and found a carton which was later found to contain cocaine.
The accused person said the vessel developed a fault and for that matter Mr Pak and Killer arrived in Takoradi to see to its repair.
He said the crew members were asked to try the vessel on the high seas after repair works had been carried out and it was during the trial that he realised the vessel was sailing opposite its designation.
Upon realising that the vessel was not heading towards Tema, as planned, Isaac said he decided to question the captain where the vessel was heading towards but that question infuriated the captain, who went inside his (captain’s) cabin for a gun.
Isaac said at that point, Mr Pak pleaded with the captain to calm down but the captain then ordered him (Isaac) and the other crew members to go into their cabins.
According to Isaac, he and the other crew members stayed in their cabins throughout the offloading of the cartons.
The accused person is expected to be cross-examined by the prosecution on February 6, 2008.