Accra June 22, GNA- The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, on Tuesday said her office was not aware of the diversion of more than 500 bags of cocoa beans meant for export. She was answering an urgent question in parliament on a case in whic h 600 sealed bags of cocoa beans meant for export were said to have been diverted from the Western region to a village called Asabidie in the Ofoa se/ Ayirebi Constituency.

Mr David Oppon-Kusi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase/Ayirebi pu t the question about three weeks ago but the Majority argued that the matte r was before court and that parliament could not make comments on it. The Minority was of the view that even if the matter was before cour t the Minister must appear before the House to prove the veracity or other wise of the case for them to be certain. Mrs Iddrisu said though there was no record on the case, the police might have investigated it.

She explained that the police in some cases could investigate matter s in the name of the Ministry of Justice and prosecute cases without referr ing the matter to the Attorney General for advice. "Sometimes the police prosecute cases directly," she said. She said the police had a dual function to investigate cases and directly prosecute cases in the name of the Attorney General. In some instances, cases were referred to the Attorney General's offi ce for it to initiate prosecutions or advise otherwise, she said. Asked whether she would pursue the case involving the cocoa beans by ordering the police to investigate, Mrs Iddrisu said she would liaise wit h the Ministry of Interior since the case had something to do with the Interior Ministry.