The Missing 77 Parcels of Cocaine: NPP in Disarray

DISARRAY….. As Cocaine Baron “The Limping Man” Surfaces, with Security Officers On His Heels

The man believed to be the king-pin in unraveling the mystery of the MV Benjamin cocaine saga, Asem Darke, popularly known as “Sheriff the Limping Man”, has made a resurgence into the news.

This time, credible information available to *The True Statesman* is that he has been spotted in the vicinity of a hotel with controversial ownership in the Accra Airport residential area.

Our source indicates that the state security apparatus is closing in on him. Asem Darke is widely believed to be the Capo of a Ghanaian Drug Cartel that sponsors the NPP.

Painstaking investigations carried out by *The True Statesman* have also confirmed that Asem Darke is one of several financial wizards behind Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign. He is reported to have been using his drug money to finance the NPP.

The mismanagement of the information from foreign intelligence sources on the movement of the cocaine, the failure to locate and arrest the ship, and the amateurish way of trying to cover up the crime, resulted in the Kufour administration’s failure to find the missing 77percals of cocaine.

And, during the hearing of the case in which Lance Corporal Dwamena Yabson, Sergeant David Nyarko and Lance Corporal Peter Bundorin appeared in court for their involvement in the disappearance of the 77 parcels of cocaine, the prosecution said that, soon after the MV Benjamin vessel, which was carrying the cocaine berthed at Tema on April 26, 2006, the parcels of cocaine were offloaded into two canoes which sailed under cover of darkness to Kpone Beach, where the drugs were off loaded.

At the beach, the three policemen were reported to have acted as sentinels while Asem Dake and his cohorts offloaded the drugs into a four-wheel vehicle. The accused took money from Asem Darke, and supervised his escape, and he had since disappeared.

Then President John Agyekum Kufuor, in a face-saving ploy, instituted the infamous Georgina Wood committee, and tasked it to find the missing cocaine. After its sittings, the committee found that the cocaine was owned by Asem Darke Sheriff, Captain Hwak of Adede2/MVBenjamin, Chief Engineer Cui Xian Li and Kwak Seong aka Killer, and recommended their prosecution.

It also recommended the prosecution of ACP Kofi Boakye, Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning, Issah Abass, Kwabena Acheapong and Mohamed Moro.

On November 28, 2007, “Tagor” and Alhaji Isaah Abass were sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment each in hard labour for conspiracy and engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs. The judgment was subject of unsavory comments by legal luminaries, and no wonder Tagor and Alhaji were subsequently freed after an appeal.

Joseph Kojo Dawson, the owner of the MV Benjamin vessel and Managing Director of Dashment Company Limited; Isaac Arhin, sailor; Phillip Bruce Arhin, mechanic; Cui Xian Li, the vessel engineer; and Luo Yui Xing, sailor, were also found guilty, and each of them was handed a sentence of 25 years in prison in hard labour.

Information available to *The True Statesman* indicates that the fugitive drug baron, who has been on the run for the past six years, has been spotted around the Airport Residential area.

A source close to the BNI has confirmed to this reporter that the BNI is on his heels, and will soon apprehend him.

“Indeed, we have finally located the hideout of Asem Darke Sherrif and we will round him up any time soon,” the BNI source said. The source believes that the arrest of the Limping man will finally help the state to unravel the mystery behind the MV Benjamin Cocaine Sega.

At the time of filling this report, it is not clear whether he has been arrested or not. What is clear, however, is that the arrest of the Limping Man will re-open the case which is generally considered by well-meaning Ghanaians as having been poorly handled.

Stay tuned.

The True Statesman

info@thetruestatesman.org