Tema Hotel Owner Remanded Over Drugs

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday, 17 August 2006
PIRNCE Tibu-Darko, 49, owner of the Koreana Hotel and Komaney Forex Bureau in Tema, who was arrested on August 9 on suspicion of dealing in narcotic drugs, was yesterday remanded in police custody by an Accra Circuit Court until August 23.

This follows a submission by Assistant Superintendent of Police, George Abavelim, that the police needed more time to investigate the matter.

He told the court "we want to read the particulars of the offence but we do not want his plea to be taken because we are still investigating."

But Mr. Gabriel Pwamang, counsel for the accused objected, saying, "the prosecution has not provided any evidence of the surveillance that they claimed to have mounted on him to warrant a remand".

He said his client was being kept by the police based on suspicion and rumour adding that "we should be careful not to open the floodgates for allegation of suspicion in order that the liberties of other people are curtailed."

The judge granted the prosecution’s request but remarked, "we will require you to go on with this case or drop it."

Presenting the facts, ASP Abavelim said Tibu-Darko is a businessman who owns a fishing company in addition to the hotel located at Community 12.

He said the accused does other activities apart from the hotel business and "this includes the distribution of narcotic drugs, particularly cocaine."

He told the packed court that the police mounted surveillance on the activities of the accused and he was arrested on August 9.

Outside the court after the hearing, some sympathizers of the accused who thronged the premises of the 28th February Road Courts, (Cocoa Affairs) attacked a photographer of the Daily Graphic Ebow Hanson.

It all started when Mr. Hanson attempted to take a photograph of the accused.

In the process some hefty looking men pounced on him and manhandled him.

They slapped him several times, hit him on the chest, seized his camera and removed the camera chip before giving it back to him. They sped off in a deep green Golf saloon car, towards the Ministries area.

Although the incident happened in the full glare of some police officers they were unhelpful.

As the other reporters attempted to help get the chip back, a woman wearing Immigration Service uniform was over heard remarking, "who do journalists think they are?"

This reporter asked her to be mindful of her utterances since she was a security official but she would not listen and kept on raining insults at journalists while another man threatened to slap the reporter.

Mr. Hanson has since lodged a complaint at the Ministries Police Station.