Two more Cops on trial over cocaine

By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, 19 September 2006
Two more policemen were yesterday arranged before an Accra Circuit Court for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of 77 parcels of cocaine from M.V. Benjamin, a vessel at the Tema Port.

This brings to five the number of policemen arrested in connection with the case in which five drug barons are also standing trial at another Accra Circuit Court.

The two officers are General Sergeant Isaac Asante and General Lance Corporal Peter Bondorin, both of the Tema Regional Command.

They were reported to have intercepted the consignment at the Kpone beach bear Tema in April, this year, but allowed one Sheriff, now at large, who took possession of the narcotic drugs to cart them away.

They were charged with abetment of crime and the court, presided over by Mr. Justice Frank Manu, who is also the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal Chairman, remanded them in police custody until September 25.

When the case was called, Principal State Attorney, Alex Annor, told the court that once the matter was in relation to the one involving the three policemen who were last week remanded, the prosecution wanted the court to adjourn it to September 25 to enable it to put the different cases together in one docket. This the court granted.

The two policemen had no legal representation.

The statement of offence read "sometime in April 2006 at Kpone Beach, you did abet one Sheriff to take delivery of quantity of narcotic drug (cocaine) with the sole purpose of distributing them in Ghana without lawful authority."

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of the cocaine consignment from the vessel had for months now been the subject of public interest and necessitated the setting up of the Justice Georgina T. Wood Committee by the Minister of the Interior.