Power cut disrupts court sitting on Tagor

Accra, May 3, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court hearing the case of Kwabena Amaning aka Tagor and Alhaji Issa Abass for a drug-related offence on Thursday adjourned the matter to May 4, following persistent power cuts at the courts.

When the case was called Justice Jones Dotse, a justice of the Court of Appeal but sitting as an additional judge of the Fast Track High Court, announced that it was unfortunate that the court could not hold any business as the Supreme Courts building had not had light since Monday. He said electricians were busy working around the clock to solve the problem.

Mr Justice Dotse said: "In view of the current load shedding which has affected sitting and since there is no serviceable generator, the case is adjourned to May 4, for Mr Osafo Buabeng counsel for Abass to continue with the cross-examination of Detective Charles Adaba." The activities of the Fast Track High Courts are power driven and due to the current load shedding exercise, some of the courts are compelled to adjourn cases whenever the lights go off. The Judicial Service has no serviceable generator for the courts as the one acquired by the Service has been out of use since 1997. Kwabena Amaning, alias Tagor and Alhaji Issah Abass, 53, alleged self-confessed drug barons, are jointly charged for conspiracy. Tagor has additionally been charged for carrying out prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs, buying and supplying of narcotic drugs while Abass is also being held for carrying out prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs and supplying narcotic drugs. They have pleaded not guilty and have been remanded in prison custody.

The court advised the media to desist from passing prejudicial comments on the pending case.

The case of the prosecution is that the accused are self-confessed drug barons, who since 2004 had been actively engaged in activities of promoting and establishing various enterprises relating to narcotic drugs.

In the process, the accused persons purchased, supplied, paid and credited the drugs, which they further distributed outside and within the country.

The prosecution said on April 26, 2006, MV Benjamin anchored in Tema breakwaters with 77 parcels of cocaine. However, 76 parcels were offloaded into two canoes, which landed at the Kpone beach in the Greater Accra Region.

The prosecution said the news of the 76 parcels got to people of the underworld and even the security agencies also had wind of it. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye invited them to a meeting in his house at Kanda in relation to the missing cocaine. At that meeting, the accused persons voluntarily confessed to their dealings in narcotic business and even boasted openly of previous activities.

The accused in the process also confessed openly that they had purchased drugs, supplied, credited and distributed drugs outside. The accused at ACP Kofi Boakye's house also agreed to locate the 76 parcels of cocaine seized and share in furtherance of their business because the quantity of cocaine brought in by the MV Benjamin was too much for one person to enjoy.

The Government set up the Georgina Wood Committee to investigate some cocaine-related cases including the MV Benjamin case and the alleged bribery of senior police officers who were investigating a 588 kilos drug seized from some Venezuelans at East Legon in Accra.