Court jails drug dealer 12 years

An Accra Circuit Court on Monday sentenced Saviour Tetteh, a 27-year-old drug dealer found to be in possession of 31 parcels of cannabis, to 12 years imprisonment.

The accused was arrested in 2011 on the Accra-Ho Highway with a locally made pistol and six live cartridges as well as 31 parcels of cannabis in two fertilizer bags on a Hyundai vehicle.

The accused was charged with possession of narcotic drugs and firearms without lawful authority.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr Francis Obiri, the Presiding judge before passing sentence, stated that he had to take into consideration the age of the convict and the number of years that he had already spent in custody.

The Prosecutor, Mr Joshua Sackey, Assistant State Attorney, said on July 25, 2011, personnel from the Highway Patrol Unit of the Ghana Police Service were detailed to the Accra-Ho Highway where they conducted snap-checks on vehicles.

He said the team stopped a Hyundai Grace vehicle with registration No.GE8317 X at Doryumu and a search of the convict’s bag revealed a locally manufactured pistol and six live cartridges.

Mr Sackey said the accused abandoned his hand bag and took to his heels but was chased and arrested in a nearby bush.

He said on his arrest, the driver of the vehicle told the policemen that the accused had two other fertilizer bags in the vehicle and a search in the presence of the convict revealed 31 parcels of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis were found.

Mr Sackey said similar substances which were in tubers of yam were also found in the bags.

He said a laboratory test report from the Police Science Laboratory showed that the dried leaves tested positive for cannabis.