Accra, June 5, GNA - Six persons who were allegedly picked up in connection with the 61 parcels of cocaine seized at Tema Port from a 40-footer container on Thursday have pleaded not guilty to narcotic related charges levelled against them.

Augustina Abu, the importer, Yaw Attah Nkansah, clearing agent, Alfred Amedzi, Managing Director for Sedco Agency, Kennedy Osei and Simon Bede, both directors of Sedco Agency, and Francis Addo, a driver, are being held for importing narcotic drugs suspected to be cocaine into country and engaging in criminal conspiracy.

The six were earlier put before Mrs Justice Irismay Brown, a Court of Appeal Judge, who admitted them to bail.

However, they have now been arraigned before Mr Justice S. Honoeyegah, also a Court of Appeal judge, who has remanded them into Police custody after their charges and facts were read out to them. Mr Asiamah Sampong, a Senior State Attorney, prayed the court to remand them to enable them to complete their investigations. This did not go down well with the counsel who in turn put in their bail applications.

Mr Addo Atuah, who represented Ms Abu, prayed the court to admit his client to bail as the prosecution had not been able to show the court that she would interfere with investigations. According to Mr Atuah, his client had a fixed place of abode, adding they were prepared to provide substantial sureties. "There is no legal justification for the continued detention of the accused persons," he said.

Mr Amofa Anaman, who represented Nkansah, Osei and Bede, noted that the facts read out did not show his clients' involvement, adding, they voluntarily reported to the security personnel when the incident occurred.

"How can someone who voluntarily handed himself over to security personnel abscond?" he asked.

Mr Addai, who represented Amedzi, told the court that his client was in court because he was a director of the Sedco Agency, the company that facilitated the clearing of the container.

According to him, his client did not know the content of the container. In the case of Addo, his counsel, Mr C.K. Hoye, intimated that his client was an innocent commercial driver who was carting the container from the Port, adding that, he had not even been paid for his services. The court after listening to both defence and prosecution adjourned the matter to June 8 to deliver its ruling on the bail application. The facts of the case are that on May 15, M/V Maersk Nolanville docked at Tema Port with containers from Ecuador, Panama and Spain. The Prosecution said among the containers was one with number MSAU0118160 manifested to contain 1,880 cartons of chewing gum, imported by Ms Abu of Augustina Abu Enterprise.

The prosecutor said personnel of the Joint Port Control Unit (JPCU) made up officers with Narcotics Control Board; Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS); Bureau of National Investigations (BNI); Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Police tagged the said container which meant that the container could only be opened by JPCU officers.

On May 19, at about 1530 hours, the container was scanned and the image disclosed that the container had other some objects. During a through examination two bags containing a total of 61 slabs of whitish substances suspected to be cocaine were found among the cartons of the chewing gum.

A filed test of the substance indicated that it was cocaine. All accused persons were rounded up when it was being carted to Ms Abu and the drug forwarded to the Ghana Standard Board for analytical examination.