Samples of the 588-kiligramme cocaine contained high purity level- Officer

Accra, Feb. 15, GNA - A Principal Scientific Officer of the Ghana Standard Board (GSB) on Thursday said some of the slaps of the 588 kilogrammes of cocaine seized by the Police at Mepasem, East Legon had as high as 98 per cent purity level.

Giving his evidence in-chief before the Fast Track High Court hearing the case of the 588 kilogrammes cocaine case, Mr James Ataki said other slaps had as low as 68 per cent purity level.

Italio Gervasio Rosero, aka, Italio Cabeza Castillo 38, businessman and Joel Meija Duarte Moises a 35-year-old machine operator are being held for conspiracy to commit crime, importing 588-kilograms of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and possessing narcotic drug without lawful authority.

They have pleaded not guilty and have been remanded into police custody by the Court.

The third Venezuelan, Vasquez Gerado Duarte David, aka Bude or Shamo, is at large.

Led in evidence by Ms Gertrude Aikins, Chief State Attorney, Mr Ataki, who is the head of Forensic Department, GSB said on January 11, 2006, the Police brought in 12 sealed boxes of narcotics substances. According to him the consignment was accompanied by a letter written by the Director/General of the Criminal Investigation Department. "The Board was to conduct test on the consignment," he added. The letter and the consignment, Mr Ataki said, were delivered by Detective Inspector Frimpong of the CID headquarters. THe samples were therefore taken from each of the consignment which bored 18 variety of logos, some of which were diamond shaped and umbrella shaped among others.

He explained that the logos indicated where the drugs emanate from and their destinations.

Mr Ataki said the 12 boxes had 50 slaps each with one other containing 38 slaps with total gross weight of 646.4 kilogrammes.

"My Lord I wish to state the net gross weight was 588 kilogrames and the consignment tested positive of cocaine," he added. Mr Ataki therefore tended the covering letter and report on the 588 kiligorames of cocaine in evidence.

Answering questions under cross- examination by Mr Kwablah Senanu, defence counsel, Mr. Ataki admitted that he did not know the accused persons.

Mr Ataki indicated to the court that letter which accompanied the consignment bear the names of the accused persons. He told the court that he did not exchange any inventory on the consignment with the Police.

Mr Ataki explained that the consignments were not kept by GSB, rather the board only took samples for analysis. He mentioned that the report on the consignment was submitted on April 18, 2006.

The case of the Prosecution is that on November 24, 2005, a team of detectives from the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), acting upon a tip-off that there was cocaine in house number 348 at Mepasem, in Accra, proceeded to the house where they met Moises.

Moises was arrested and he led the Police to his upper room, where three bottles of ammonium used to turn cocaine into crack, a machine used in compressing the cocaine, 13 pieces of gloves and a quantity of plastic wrappers were found.

The Prosecution said brown cellulose tapes; a filtering bottle used in filtering and sniffing cocaine; an exercise book used in recording the names of people, who had purchased and had been supplied with the drugs and two cell phones were also found.

The court ordered its Registrar to write to the Ghana Institute of Languages to provide an additional Venezuelans interpreter. The case has been adjourned to March 12. 15 Feb. 07