State appeals against bail granted to alleged drug barons

Accra Feb. 20, GNA- The Court of Appeal (CA) on Friday began hearing an appeal filed by the State against a ruling by an Accra Regional Tribunal which granted bail to six alleged drug barons arrested with 588.33 kilograms of cocaine at Tema.

The accused are: Kevin Gorman, 59, American; Mohammed Ibrahim Kamil; and Alan Hodson 45, David Logan 43, and Frank Lavelrick 43, all British and 45-year-old Sven Herb, German.

They are accused of conspiring and possessing narcotic large cache of the drugs without authority.

Gorman was additionally charged for using his house for narcotic offence.

The six accused persons have pleaded not guilty. Each of them has been granted a 300-million-cedi bail with two sureties to be justified. The three-member panel is made of Mr Justice Stephen T. Farkye, presiding with Mr Justice R.T Aninakwah and Mr Justice J. Dotse as members.

Mr Anthony Gyambiby, Chief State Attorney, told the CA that the Regional Tribunal did not consider the gravity and seriousness of the offence, although it accepted the tribunal's reasons.

" Accused person were arrested with 588.33 kilograms of cocaine and I would like to urge the court to take judicial notice of the global collaborative efforts on drug trafficking and its effects," he stated. Mr Gyambiby said the Regional Tribunal did not look at the accused persons' fixed places of abode, but only relied on verbal applications made by their counsel.

"Applications for bail should have been filed and the court should have been certain of their fixed places of abode before granting them bail." Mr Gyambiby said sureties of the accused person should have been independent and of good character.

"How can the tribunal look at a surety and be satisfied," he asked. He noted that although bail was discretional, the tribunal should have looked at the circumstances before granting bail, adding, "nations world wide are taking steps to fight drug trafficking."

The court adjourned the matter to Friday February 27, for defence counsel to respond to the application.

On January 7, this year, the accused persons were arrested by security personnel at Tema, with large quantities of drugs, believed to be cocaine.