By William Yaw Owusu
Wednesday, 06 December 2006
A DAY after one of the six policemen being held in connection with the disappearance of 76 parcels of cocaine from the M.V. Benjamin vessel at the Tema port turned prosecution witness, another person who was earlier discharged by an Accra Circuit Court in connection with the case has also appeared in court as a prosecution witness (P.W.).
Kwabena Acheampong was at the Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday as the first P.W. in the case in which his former co-accused, Kwabena Amaning, also called Tagor, and Alhaji Issah Abass, are being tried for their involvement in the missing parcels of narcotic drugs.
Due to the new development, Mr Ellis Owusu Fordjuor and Mohammed Atta, counsel for Tagor and Abass, respectively, requested an adjournment to enable them to have “more and better instructions” from their clients.
Mr Fordjuor explained that “until this morning we were of the belief that Acheampong was in the same boat with our clients. His presence here as a witness has taken us by surprise.”
Mr William Pobi, a Principal State Attorney, prosecuting, responded: “About a week ago we presented the facts of the case before this court and it became obvious from that time that the witness and the accused persons were no longer in the same boat.”
The trial judge, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, who is also a Court of Appeal Judge, ruled that the court could not question the discretionary powers vested in the Attorney-General under the Constitution over who should be charged before a court.
He added that there was nothing wrong with what the prosecution did as far as the trial was concerned. Rather than adjourning, the judge suspended proceedings for an hour to enable defence counsel to confer with their clients.
In his evidence-in-chief, Acheampong told the court that he lived in Britain from 1989 to 1997 and was once convicted for dealing in narcotic drugs.
He said in May this year, he received information that some policemen had surrounded Tagor’s house at East Legon in Accra “so I quickly called him and he told me that when he got there the policemen had left a note which indicated that he was to go to the Police Headquarters to see the Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Kofi Boakye.
“The following morning, Tagor asked me to accompany him to ACP Boakye’s office and when we got there I was not allowed to enter the room because they said I was not invited."
Witness said when Tagor came out he told him that ACP Boakye accused him of spreading false rumours that he had gone into the MV Benjamin vessel.
Acheampong told the packed court that about three days later Tagor told him that ACP Boakye had invited him to his house near the French Embassy in Accra at lunch time and that he should accompany him which he did.
"In ACP Boakye’s house I saw a man who I later got to know as Alhaji Moro and we were both offered a seat under a tree.
"ACP Boakye then said Alhaji Issah will join us soon. We waited for about 10 to 15 minutes when Issah drove in. ACP Boakye then offered us some drinks but none of us took it."
He said ACP Boakye told them that he wanted to get to the bottom of a certain rumour that was circulating around and pointed to Issah and Tagor that they were behind those false rumours. Both however denied knowledge of any rumour.
Witness said Mr Boakye’s allegation against the two men sparked off accusations and counter accusations between them with each telling the other that he went into the vessel.
Issah started accusing Tagor of cheating him in previous business specifically cocaine but Tagor denied ever cheating him.
He said ACP Boakye advised all of them at the meeting to keep their ears to the ground after which they left the house.
During cross examination, Acheampong told the court that he was not formally invited to ACP Boakye’s house and also did not take part in the meeting.
"There were other security men in the house during the meeting and were told of the subject matter which is the missing cocaine. At all material times the word cocaine was never used".
Asked about the secret tape recording of the meeting, witness said he got to know about it at the Justice Georgina Wood Committee which was set up by the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the missing cocaine.
Also in the witness box to give evidence was Detective Corporal Edward Yaw Asante attached to the Narcotic Control Board who told the court that about 40 security personnel raided the vessel also known as Adede II on April 27 when intelligence reports had reached them a few weeks earlier.
He said police enquiries revealed that there were 77 parcels of the cocaine brought by the vessel but a canoe had earlier taken76 away to the Kpone beach.
Corporal Asante further said each parcel contained 30 slabs and the search team conducted field test before bringing them to the Ghana Standards Board for analysis, all of which tested to be cocaine.
He said he met Tagor and Abass for the first time in the cells of the Cantonments and Ministries police stations.
Further hearing continues today.
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