By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday May 10,2007
Reverend Jonathan Yaw Martey, Head of Quality Control Laboratory of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) yesterday testified in the case involving Kwabena Amaning also known as Tagor and Alhaji Abass in the loss of 76 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at Tema Port in April last year.
Tagor is facing four counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs, buying of narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs while Abass is charged with three counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drug.
The two have pleaded not guilty to all the charges and are in prison custody.
Tagor and Abass were among 14 people recommended for prosecution by the Justice Georgina Wood Committee set up by the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the missing 76 parcels of cocaine and another quantity of cocaine seized from a house in East Legon in Accra in November 2005.
An alleged meeting at the residence of ACP Boakye, the then Director of Police Operations, with four people including Tagor and Abass, formed the basis for the setting of the committee by the Ministry.
Led in evidence by Ms. Gertrude Aikins, the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Rev. Martey told the court that individuals are not allowed to import cacaine and other narcotic substances into the country saying “the only body that is permitted under the law to import cocaine in the Ghana Standards Board (GSB)”.
He said the quota given to Ghana by the Intenational Narcotics Control Agency of the United Nations is 10 grmmes per annum adding that “ the GSB imported only 0.92 grammes in two instalments for analysis in the whole of last year”.
He told the court that it is the FDB which is mandated by law to regulate the importation and manufacture of narcotic drugs in the country and added that he did the Tagor and Abass had not applied to them to import cocaine into the country.
He said during cross-examination by Ellis Owusu Fordjuor and Mohammed Atta, counsel for Tagor and Abass respectively that there was no occasion where a sample of cocaine sent for analysis had tested negetive.
The court presided over by Justice Jones Dotse of the Court of Appeal arjourned proceedings until May15.
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