Ghanaian domiciled in Holland jailed 10 years

Accra, July 13, GNA - An Accra Regional Tribunal on Tuesday sentenced Eric Goka, a Ghanaian living in Holland, to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labour for attempting to export 364 grams of cocaine out of the country.

When Goka was first put before the tribunal on May 15 this year, he pleaded not guilty to possessing the drugs. However, on May 31, he changed his plea to guilty.

The three-member Tribunal chaired by Mr Justice Frank Manu, therefore, convicted him on his own plea and sentenced him accordingly. The facts of the case as told on Goka's first appearance on May 15 were that on July 24 of 2005, the convict arrived at the Kotoka International Airport to board a KLM Flight to Holland.

The Prosecution stated that while Goka was going through departure formalities, officials of the Narcotics Control Board on duty at the Airport suspected that he had foreign materials in his stomach. He was, therefore, escorted to the 37th Military Hospital for an x-ray examination which revealed that he had foreign materials in his stomach.

According to the Prosecution, Goka was put under observation for three days during which period he expelled 37 pellets of whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.

The Prosecution said an analytical examination report on the substance from the Ghana Standards Board proved positive for cocaine. Goka, the Prosecution stated, told the Police that one Kofi gave him the substance to be delivered to one Pepra in Holland for a fee of 1,500 euros.