The Missing Cocaine Case Secret Recording Played In Court

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday February 22, 2007
The secret tape recording of the conversation between ACP Kofi Boakye, former Director of Police Operations, and some suspected drug dealers, was yesterday played at an Accra Fast Track High Court.

It was brought to the court by Mr. Yaw Baah, Member of Parliament for Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, who was in court as the sixth prosecution witness in the trial of two persons charged with having knowledge of the disappearance of 76 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at the Tema Port in April 2006.

Mr. Baah was in court to play the tape in his capacity as a member of the Justice Georgina Wood Committee, the fact-finding body set up by the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the missing cocaine and another quantity seized at a house in East Legon in Accra.

Kwabena Amaning popularly called Tagor and Alhaji Issah Abass are among 14 people recommended by the committee after its three months of investigation for prosecution for their alleged involvement in the missing parcels.

Tagor is facing four counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs, buying of narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs while Abass has been charged with three counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs and supply of drugs.

Led in evidence by Ms. Getrude Aikins, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. Baah told the court, presided over by Justice Jones Dotse of the Court of Appeal, that he was Parliament’s representative on the committee.

“We began our work in the first week of July and ended it in the last week of October, last year, and submitted our report to the Attorney-General through the Minister of the Interior.

“In order to facilitate our work, we received all kinds of documents and the cassette of the secret recording of the conversation between ACP Boakye and others was ‘dropped’ by an anonymous person.

“We listened to the recording and saw that it contained vital information so we formally invited those whose voices were on the tape including Tagor and Abass,” he said.

“It was played to their hearing and ACP Boakye, Kwabena Acheampong, Alhaji Moro of Kumasi, Tagor and Abass all admitted afterwards that it was their voices.”

Before the tape which had poor sound quality was played, Ellis Owusu-Fordjuor and Mohammed Attah, representing Abass and Tagor respectfully, objected to playing it on the grounds that Mr. Baah had not been able to lay any legal foundation as to the source of the recording and also the exhibit had not been tendered.

But Ms. Aikins argued that sections 142 and 136 (1) of the Evidence Decree clearly supports what we are seeking to do and it does not need to be tendered before it is listened to.

The judge overruled counsel’s objection saying, “Sufficient foundation has been laid for the witness to listen to the tape and identify it.”

During the cross-examination, the MP told the court that the committee was only interested in the relevance of the recordings and not its source.

“I do admit that at various instances raised, was the issue of sound quality on the tape but in the long run they all admitted it was their voices. It was not only ACP Boakye who accepted that it was his voice, they all admitted to it.”

He said he could not remember that ACP Boakye at a point told the court that the tape had been edited. “We concentrated on this recording because it fell with the time frame of one-and-a-half hours of the meeting time.

Mr. Baah further told the court that they sought the assistance of experts to transcribe and interpreter the recording and “we did not discover the missing parcels but those who played various roles were identified.”

On the issue of the involvement of Manhyia on the recordings, the MP said, “What I heard was Ohene (Chief). The voice was not specific on that.”

He said Moro denied before the Committee of his links with Manhyia to seek the palace’s intervention for Tagor.

“Otumfuo does not tolerate such criminal acts and if the issue gets to him he would have held Tagor’s hand to the police,” witness quoted Moro as telling the committee.

After the MP came the Seventh Prosecution Witness, Detective Inspector Charles Adaba, attached to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, the investigator who took over the case after the committee’s had submitted its report.

He said it was Mr. Joe Ghartey, the then Attorney-General who handed over the recording and some transcripts to him to continue the investigations.

He said that he contacted some media houses which also had copies of the recordings to establish its source but they all declined to disclose their sources.

“I tried my best to establish the source of the recording but the effort proved futile,” he said.

When the prosecution attempted to tender the tape recording through Detective Inspector Adaba, defence counsel objected to it and the court adjourned proceedings until March 14, for the court to rule on it.