Drama over ‘wee’ banku

There was a dramatic scene at the Cocoa Affairs Court premises yesterday afternoon when a 29-year-old nursing mother was arrested by the police for allegedly concealing Indian hemp in five balls of banku she intended to deliver to a remand prisoner.

The action by Esther Adokor, the nursing mother, attracted a lot of people who wondered why she could take such risk of delivering the alleged narcotic drug to the cell where the remand prisoner, one Agbey, was being kept together with others.

The police officers, who were manning the cell, disclosed that the lady approached them and stated that she had brought some food for her brother, Agbey, who was in custody but had been brought to the court.

The police said they, therefore, inspected the 10 balls of banku, okro stew and Don Simon fruit drink which were in a black polythene bag.

Before this, they asked the lady to identify the one for whom she had brought food, and she pointed at Agbey.

Agbey also sent her to buy him water which she did.

While inspecting the food, the police realised that five out of the 10 balls of the banku contained oval sized wrappers of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa, a narcotic drug, and subsequently arrested her.

The lady, however, denied knowledge of the substance that was hidden in the banku claiming that she was only sent by a certain fair lady to bring the food to her brother at the cell after promising to give her GHc50.

Esther, who stated that she lived at Lapaz, narrated to journalists that she met the fair woman with tribal marks at Tema Station when she alighted from a vehicle.

According to her, the woman asked where she was going to, and she informed the strange woman that she was on her way to see her father at Opera Square in Accra for money to cater for her child.

Esther narrated that she informed the woman about how the father of the child had been irresponsible, and the strange woman asked her whether she knew the Cocoa Affairs Court, to which she answered in the affirmative.

The woman then gave her the food to be given to Agbey with a promise to give her GHc50 to take care of the child. This was after the woman had given her GHc5 and a number to call afterwards.

Before this reporter left the court premises, the lady was yet to be taken to the police station to give her statement.

Meanwhile, a lawyer has volunteered to assist the suspect.

Interestingly, earlier in the day, Agbey had been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Francis Obiri, for allegedly dealing in narcotic.

He denied ever knowing the lady after learning that the food was stuffed with the drug.

Shouting on top of his voice in the cell, Agbey stated that the food was not for him and that he only sent the lady to buy him sachet water to drink.