By William Yaw Owusu
Friday November 2, 2007
An Accra High Court yesterday heard how Sheriff Asem Darke, declared wanted by the police, used his brother's name in the charter agreement that brought 77 parcels of cocaine into the country last year.
The court, presided over by Justice Annin Yeboah of the Court of Appeal, also heard how Joseph Kojo Dawson, owner of the chartered MV Benjamin vessel, made his father to sign for him.
The court heard the revelations yesterday when Dawson, charged with using his property for narcotic offences, was cross-examined by the prosecution, led by Mrs. Stella Badu, a Principal State Attorney.
He is being 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.
The sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean vessel engineer, who was jointly charged with the five was acquitted and discharged by the court for lack of evidence.
The five men have been charged for the roles they played in the alleged importation of the cocaine to the Tema Port in April last year.
Sheriff, popularly called “Limping Man,” now at large, allegedly chartered the vessel from Dawson at 150,000 dollars under the pretext of towing his distressed vessel from Conakry, Guinea.
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 establish a case against them.
Dawson told the court that Dashment Company Limited of which he is the Managing Director jointly owned MV Benjamin with a Korean called Jil Bae of Dugon Fisheries in Korea.
He said Bae had in 2000 given the vessel to him on a hire purchase agreement at a cost of 600,000 dollars but he paid only 100,000 dollars before the vessel was arrested in April 27, 2006.
He said he made his father sign the charter agreement with Sheriff because his father was the person who had signed the hire-purchase agreement even though he had described his father as 'just an advisor' of the company in his earlier submission.
“Under the charter agreement, I should have signed but my father did because he was the person who signed the hire-purchase agreement,” he said.
Asked why Bae who he claimed prepared the agreement did not sign it, Dawson said the vessel was registered in Ghana and Dashment Company was supposed to sign it.
When the prosecution submitted that the name that Sheriff used in the agreement was Evans Charwetey Tsekobi and not Asem Darke, Dawson replied: “Sheriff and Bae came to us with the agreement and it was signed.”
Charwetey himself has since appeared before the court as a prosecution witness to say that he did not know anything about the agreement and did not also know about Atico Fisheries, the company used by Sheriff to sign the agreement.
Dawson further told the court that apart from the charter agreement, there was another agreement that permitted Sheriff to buy the vessel oughtright saying 'in the two agreements, Sheriff was to pay the money directly to Bae'.
He claimed that the first time he met Sheriff who introduced himself as Asem Darke was on February 6, 2006, when they met to sign the agreement which was witnessed by lawyers for the two parties but the prosecution says Sheriff had posed as Charwetey in the agreement and Dawson could not challenge the fugitive.
He said the vessel could tow a distressed vessel but Sheriff was the first person to have come to them for that purpose.
Dawson claimed that Bae visited Ghana every two years but was in the country in June and November 2005 and in January 2006. He further claimed that he did not know who prepared the two agreements even though he was the Managing Director of the vessel's company.
The prosecution said in the agreement Sheriff was expected to pay 150,000 dollars to the vessel's owners before January 31, 2006, but as at February 6, when the agreement was being effected, it had not been done, a position which Dawson admitted but claimed “Bae was in charge at that time.”
He claimed that he did not know if Sheriff had seen the vessel before the agreement but told the court that after February 6, 2006, the responsibility of the vessel had been given to Sheriff under the agreement.
When the prosecution suggested to him that his role in the agreement indicated that he was not interested in the vessel, Dawson said, “I have interest in the vessel but I do not know who is in charge of the repair of the vessel.”
The prosecution again suggested to him that the agreement did not allow Sheriff to repair the vessel. Dawson insisted that the fugitive was responsible for everything including repairs.
He said he went to Takoradi to see to the company's other vessel that had brought fish and saw Isaac Arhin whom he asked to inform him if Sheriff attempted to sail the vessel.
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