Ben Ndego is one of the officers suppoenaed
By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday August 14 2007.
REPORTS reaching the Ghanaian Times indicate that two top officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) who were recently interdicted over the loss of five kilogrammes of cocaine will this morning appear before an Accra Fast Track High Court to testify in a cocaine trial.
The two, Colonel Isaac Akuoko (rtd) Executive Secretary of NACOB and Ben Ndego, NACOB’s Operations officer have been subpoenaed to testify before the court.
They were subpoenaed at the instance of Alhaji Issah Abass, one of the two men on trial for narcotic offence.
Abass in charged with Kwabena Amaning, popularly called Tagor for having knowledge about the missing 76 parcels of cocaine from a fishing vessel that had docked at the breakwaters of the Tema Port in April last year.
Tagor and Abass were among 14 people recommended for prosecution by the Justice Georgina Wood Committee set up by the Ministry of the Interior last year, to investigate the case of 77 parcels brought into the country by the vessel, MV Benjamin and another quantity of substance seized from a house at East Legon in Accra in November 2005.
The setting up of the committee came about as result of a meeting allegedly held at the residence of ACP Kofi Boakye, then Director of Police Operations with four other suspected drug dealers including Tagor and Abass which was secretly recorded by an unknown person.
Of the 77 parcels of cocaine on the vessel, 76 disappeared at the breakwaters of the port before security agencies intercepted the vessel.
Tagor is facing four counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs.
Abass on the other hand is charged with three counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs.
The two have pleaded not guilty and are currently in prison custody.
When they opened their defence, Abass told the court that Mr Ndego asked him to record the meeting at ACP Boakye’s residence at Kanda, Accra.
He had also told the court that he went with Mr Ndego to Col. Akuoko’s office to deliver the tape to the executive secretary after the meeting.
Abass also told the court that he lied to the Justice Georgina Wood Committee about the source of the tape.
With this development, Abass said he was prepared to ask the two NACOB officers to testify on his behalf.
By the close of last week, Col. Akuoko and Mr Ndego had been served to appear before the court today to testify.
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