"Cocaine-Soup" Chief Makes World News

Ghana chief accused of hiding cocaine in soup cans

ACCRA (Reuters) - A Ghanaian tribal chief is awaiting trial for attempting to smuggle cocaine to Holland in cans of palm soup, an anti-drugs official in the West African country said on Thursday.

Osei Toddy Bonsu, a chief in the Ashanti region of central Ghana, was remanded in custody after a hearing in Accra on Thursday, said Chief Superintendent Mark Ewuntomah, acting deputy executive secretary of the Narcotics Control Board.

Resident in Holland, Bonsu was arrested on December 6 at Accra's international airport as he returned to Europe after attending his father's funeral.

He told police officers he was carrying the three cans of palm soup to the brother of a lady he had just met.

"They inspected them by piercing them: the contents revealed a powdery substance, which was tested and proven to be cocaine," Ewuntomah said.

Bonsu faces charges of possession of narcotic drugs and attempting to export them. If found guilty, he faces a minimum sentence of 10 years.

Bonsu, who denies all charges, was made a traditional ruler of the Agogo area of Ashanti, known for its cocoa and gold, in August.

The case is the latest in a wave of high-profile drug arrests in Ghana which has highlighted the role of the former British colony as a smuggling route from South America to Europe.

Eighteen people, including a top police officer, were charged with narcotics-related offences in September after a major drugs shipment disappeared while under police surveillance earlier this year.

Last year, Ghanaian member of parliament Eric Amoateng was arrested in New York, where he faces trial on drug trafficking charges.

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