JUne 5, 2008 (Page 40)
FIFTY-NINE kilogrammes of cocaine with a street value of GH¢180,000 was destroyed yesterday on the orders of the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal.
The drugs were found by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) at the duty free shop of the Kotoka International Airport through the assistance of the Aviation Security on March 14, 2007.
The burning of the drugs was witnessed by court officials, the prosecution, officials of the NACOB, among others, at an open space near the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal premises in Accra yesterday.
Kwame Owusu Yelbert is standing trial at the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal in connection with the narcotics.
He has been charged with two counts of conspiracy and abetment of crime and would reappear before the court on June 17, 2008.
Three others — Daniel Sandja Nimako, Emmanuel Boakye and Felix Edusei — who were also charged with possession of narcotics without authority, are on the run.
The facts of the case were that on March 14, 2008 officials of NACOB had information from the Aviation Security that some people were hiding narcotic drugs within the airport premises.
According to the prosecution, a search was conducted within the airport and two polythene bags containing whitish powdered substances suspected to be cocaine were found at the duty free shop.
Investigations revealed that Edusei, who was then the driver of a duty vehicle on the night of March 13, 2007, was spotted removing a bag popularly known as ‘Ghana Must Go’ from the duty vehicle with the assistance of Nimako, Boakye and Yelbert.
The Commander of the Aviation Security went to the CCTV room to view the recording of March 13, 2008 and it was in the recording that Yelbert was spotted standing at the entrance of the arrival hall while Nimako and Boakye were also captured carrying the said bags through the arrival hall to the entrance of the transit shop, which was also part of the duty free shop.
Yelbert was subsequently arrested but his accomplices bolted and have since not been seen.
Officials of the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) run tests on the substances, which tested positive for cocaine.
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