Cocaine Case: Moises was smuggled into the country

Accra, Aug 3, GNA - Superintendent of Police, Mr Edward Tabiri, a witness in the East Legon cocaine case, on Thursday told the Georgina Woode Committee that it was his belief that Vasquez Gerado Duarte David the Venezuelan, who is at large, smuggled Joel Meija Duarte Moises one of the accused into the country.

He said this was because no record about the arrival of Joel could be retrieved from the Ghana Immigrations Service data, when the Police Service requested for information from the Immigration Service.

Supt. Tabiri was speaking when he was cross-examined by Mr James Abiaduka, Counsel for Ms Grace Asibi, 23-year-old woman at the centre of 200,000-dollar bribery allegations against some Police Officers. Supt Tabiri said documents retrieved at Compimchiz, the company belonging to Vasquez and Ms Asibi, rather revealed that Joel tried applying for entry into the country when in actual fact he was already in the country.

This was in answer to a question whether Supt Tabiri tried finding out what the two men were doing in the country and whether they were in for business or as tourist.

Mr Abiaduka, therefore, put it to Mr Tabiri that he received an amount of 30,000 dollars aside the Police share of 170,000 dollars to settle the officers of the Ghana Immigrations Service, because some people there had connived with Vasquez to allow Joel into the country without the necessary documentations.

Supt Tabiri said the records, however, showed that Italo Gervasio Rosero, another Venezuelan involved in the case, came in as a businessman.

The two Venezuelans were arrested with 588 kilograms of cocaine at East Legon in November 2005.

The Georgina Woode Committee was set up to among other things to investigate an allegation of bribery of Policemen when they busted the Venezuelans at East Legon for dealing in cocaine.