Cocaine in palm nut soup container destroyed

Accra Feb. 15, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday ordered the destruction of 60 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cans labelled Ghana Fresh palm nut intercepted at the Aviance Cargo Village in October last year.

This was after Detective Sergeant Joseph Akwei, Bureau of National Investigations and the sixth prosecution witness testified and tendered the 60 tins of cocaine with the street value of three million dollars in evidence.

The witness was testifying in a case in which Emmanuel Kweku Darkey, a 50 year-old Ghanaian based in the United Kingdom was arrested by security personnel when he allegedly attempted to export the 60 tins of cocaine to the United Kingdom.

Darkey has pleaded not guilty and has been remanded into prison custody to reappear on February 22.

The order followed Mr. William Kpobi, Principal State Attorney's prayer to the court for an order to destroy them as soon as they were tendered in evidence.

The court, presided over by Mr. Justice K. A Acquaye obliged and ordered that the destruction be supervised by the an official of the Judicial Service, officials from the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), Ghana Standard Board (GSB), Environmental Protection Agency and the media at the Independence Square.

Mr Attah Akyea, who represented Darkey did not object to the admission of the tins of substance in evidence. In October last year, security personnel suspected the movement of boxes containing vegetables and arrested Kirk Patrick Bekoe, the freight forwarder, now a prosecution witness, who in turn led them to arrest Darkey.

Dakey during interrogation, claimed he came to Ghana to purchase vegetables, adding that, the consignment were allegedly given to him by one Michael Osei to add to his, although he did not know the content. A field test proved the substance positive to cocaine.