By William Yaw Owusu
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
GRACE Asibere Asibi, the woman whose information reportedly led to the discovery and seizure of 588 kilogrammes of cocaine, has allegedly admitted in her caution statement that she sublet her rented house at East Legon, Accra, in which the drugs were found to Joel Mella, one of the two Venezuelans being tried in connection with the seized drugs.
She allegedly said she rented the house from one Mr. Fiagorme at a monthly rent of 800 dollars but sublet it to Mella, 35, a machine operator, at 1,000 dollars.
Superintendent Edward Tabiri of the Property Fraud Unit of the Ghana Police Service, read this from Asibi in a statement yesterday when he appeared before the Accra Fast Track High Court for the third time to testify in the case in which Mella and another Venezuelan, Halo Cabezza Castillo, 38, businessman, have been charged with the importation of the drugs.
David Duarte Vasquez, said to be Asibi’s boyfriend, and believed to be the brain behind the importation of the narcotic substance and who has also been charged together with the two, is still at large.
Mella and Castillo, who were in court had pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy, importation and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority.
Asibi, according to the statement, met Mella three months prior to his arrest at a Jokers’ Night Club in Accra where Mella allegedly asked her to assist him to rent an apartment, having explained to her that he was spending too much on hotel bills.
"Before then, I had already rented a house at Mempeasem, East-Legon so I sublet it to Mella," Supt. Tabiri quoted Asibi as saying in the statement.
Witness said Asibi, however, denied the statement that she knew of Mella’s involvement in cocaine business before subletting the house to him.
Supt. Tabiri told the court that evidence gathered showed that "there is a strong link between Mella and Vasquez in the drug trade," adding that Asibi’s assertion in her statement that Mella was a tourist could be true.
He said it was Vasquez who invited Mella into the country and used Asibi as a front to put Mella in that residence.
When Kwabla Dogbe Senanu, Counsel for the two Venezuelans, suggested to witness that the prosecution should have charged Vasquez and Asibi, and not his clients, Supt. Tabiri answered, "Accused are deeply involved and they are in conspiracy."
He told the court that KLM stickers found in Mella’s possession were blank and explained that "a lot of the seizures made globally use such stickers."
He said Mella was never prepared to assist the police to get to the source of the drug and added that when Mella was arrested, he demonstrated to the police how a machine seized in the raid is used to compress the cocaine into compact pieces.
The court, presided over by Justice E.K. Ayebi, adjourned proceedings to November 29, when Supt. Tabiri will be cross-examined by Castillo’s counsel.
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