Labourer jailed 10 years for possessing cocaine

Accra, May 23, GNA - The Accra Regional Tribunal on Tuesday sentenced John Sarfo, a labourer, to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour, for possessing a narcotic drug.
Sarfo, 32, was charged with possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority, contrary to Section 2(1) and (2) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and Sanctions) Law 1990, PNDC Law 236. Ms Barbara Sackey, Assistant State Attorney, told the tribunal chaired by Mr Justice Frank Manu that on April 6 2005, Sarfo was scheduled to board a KLM flight from the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Spain via Amsterdam.
Ms Sackey said while at the airport, Mr Emmanuel Asante, personnel of the Narcotic Control Board, who was at the KIA to detect unlawful trafficking of narcotics, observed the convict's conduct to be characteristic of persons unlawfully carrying narcotics. The Prosecutor said Mr Asante confronted Sarfo and later conveyed him to the 37th Military Hospital, where an X-Ray examination was conducted.
According to her, the examination revealed the presence of some foreign material in Sarfo's stomach after which he confessed that he swallowed 80 pellets of narcotic substance. Ms Sackey said after expelling the pellets, they were sent to the Ghana Standards Board for analysis and they were certified to be cocaine, a narcotic drug. 23 May, 06