Takoradi Circuit Court remands 13 stowaways

Takoradi, June 27, GNA - The Takoradi Circuit Court 93A" on Wednesday remanded 13 dock workers for attempted stowaway, conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful entry.

The accused are Ebenezer Mensah, 24, Francis Atiso, 25, Alfred Assuman, 23, Alex Abraham Amoh, 23, Emmanuel Otoo, 28, and Richard Ato Darko, 25.

The rest are Robert Amoah, 22, Mustapha Kadri, 28, Francis Awortwi, 24, Daniel Boateng, 23, Emmanuel Affum, 24, Samuel Asafuah, 28 and Thomas Agyei, 29.

Their pleas were not taken and they are to re-appear on June 28 this y= ear.

Prosecuting, Police Inspector Theodore Alhassan, said the accused persons were casual labourers working with the Ghana Dock Labour Company at the Takoradi Port.

He said on June 17 this year, M/V VERA 93D", a foreign cargo vessel, arrived at the Takoradi Port to load and discharge containers.

Inspector Alhassan said Mensah and Atiso had a hint that the vessel would be leaving for Europe and planned to stowaway on it. He said they managed to find their way into the harbour by using a hired canoe from New Takoradi and sneaked onto the vessel with the aid of a bamboo stick and hid in one of the hatches.

He said Assuamn, Amoh, Otoo, Darko, Amoah, Awortwi, Boateng and Affum also managed to outwit security at the Port at different times, sneaked into the vessel and hid themselves in the hatch.

Inspector Alhassan said Kadri who was lawfully booked to work on the vessel, refused to go out after the close of work and hid himself in the hatch as well.

He said Assuah and Agyei hid themselves in a life boat. Inspector Alhassan said the crew of the vessel detected an unusual noise in the hatches and the accused persons were found in their hideouts during a search.

He said the accused were arrested and handed over to the Police. Inspector Alhassan said investigations conducted on the 13 stowaways revealed that Darko and Kadri had earlier been bonded by the Takoradi Circuit Court 93B" to be of good behaviour for 12 months for a similar offence.