M.V Benjamin Vessel Owner Opens Defence

By William Yaw Owusu

Saturday October 20, 2007
Joseph Kojo Dawson, whose vessel was chartered to cart 77 parcels of cocaine into the country on Thursday opened his defiance at a Accra Fast High Court. He is charged with four others for the importation of the narcotic drug.

Dawson and his accomplices, Isaac Arhin, 40 Phillip Bruce Arhin, 49, a mechanic Cui Xian Li, 49, a vessel engineer and Luo Yui Xing, 49, both Chinese who were on board the MV Benjamin vessel that allegedly brought the narcotic drug package lost their respective applications for submission of ‘no case’ after the close of the prosecution’s case on Tuesday.

The sixth accused person Pak Bok Sil, a Korean vessel engineer, who was jointly, charged with five was acquitted and discharged for by the court for lack of evidence.

All five men have been charged for the various roles they played in the alleged importation of the cocaine to the Tema Port in April last year.

Sheriff Asem Darke, popularly called “Limping Man,” now at large, allegedly chartered the vessel from Dawson at150,000 dollars under the pretext of towing hi distressed vessel from Conakry, Guinea.

Dawson has pleaded not guilty to using his property for narcotic offences.

Isaac Arhin, Bruce Arhin, Li and Xing have all pleaded not guilty to two counts of engaging in prohibited business as related to narcotic drugs and possessing narcotic drugs unlawfully.

The prosecution called 13 witnesses after which the accused persons filed a submission of no case’ because they believed the prosecution failed to convince,

Led in evidence by D.K. Ameley, his counsel, Dawson told the court that Daohment Company Limited of which he is that Managing Director jointly owned MV Benjamin with a Korean called Bae of Dugon Fisheries in Korea.

He said Bae had given the vessel to him on a hire purchase agreement for 600,000 dollars in 2000 but were able to pay only 100,000 dollars before the vessel was intercepted by the security agencies in April 27, 2006.

He told the court that after sometime when the vessel started giving them problems, Bae who resides in Palmas, Spain asked him to look for a local buyer and later contacted him to say that Sheriff says before the vessel is purchased, he will test it to tow his distressed vessel from Conakry Guinea”, it was Bae who engaged the expatriate crew, a Korean and Chinese, while Daohment Company engaged the local crew.

Dawson told the court that he was a signatory to the charter agreement adding “Sherriff Chartered the vessel to tow his distressed vessel. He did not say that he was using the vessel to cart cocaine”.

He claimed that the 150,000 dollar chart fee was to be given to Bae by Sherrif and added that he did not receive any money from the fugitive.

He also said under the agreement, Sherriff was solely responsible for repairing, crewing and bunkering of the vessel adding “before the agreement we had paid off our crew and Bae had asked a man caked Gorge to look after the vessel at the Takoradi Port.”

Dawson said the chartered agreement was prepared on January 25, 2006 and signed on February 6, 2006.

He claimed that when Sherriff did not pay the charter fee he met him at Community 3, Tema but the fugitive pleaded with him for time because he had spent on lot on the vessel’s repairs.

Dawson again said he was not aware of the departure date of the vessel from the Takoradi Port that, he had met Isaac Arhin in February 2006 at Takoradi and had asked him to notify him anytime Sherriff attempted to move the vessel.

He said when the vessel was submitted intercepted he voluntarily to the National Security Co-coordinator in Tema and also led the officers to arrest Sherriff’s dinner.

He also said when he and the security agent, indulging Ben Ndego, the interdicted Narcotic, attempted to arrest Sheriff the officers asked him to stay bade 200 metres from the fighting house in Tema.

“When I got the news that the vessel had been used to cart cocaine I was not frightened because I knew it was Sherriff who was responsible for that”.

He is expected to be cross-examined by the prosecution on October25.