Witness in cocaine case testifies in camera

This was because a witness from the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) had sought permission from the court to testify in camera on the ground that the issues to be spoken on were delicate because they boarded on national security.

Subsequently, the Presiding Judge, Mr Justice Clemence Honyenuga, a Court of Appeal Judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, moved the court to his chambers.

Information later gathered by the Daily Graphic indicated that the witness had since completed the evidence-in-chief and was expected to be cross-examined by the defence team on January 16, 2014.

Those standing trial are: Percival Junior Court, a Guyanese engineer; Samuel Monty, a Guyanese seaman and Singh Primchand, an Indian seaman. They have been accused of illegally importing 414 kilogrammes of cocaine with a street value of $60 million into the country.

The accused persons, who initially did not have legal representation, now have lawyers to defend them.

Change of plea

The court on January 7, 2014, reversed a guilty plea entered by the three accused persons.  According to the court, considering the explanations given by the three, it was incumbent to enter a not-guilty plea on their behalf.

On January 7, 2014, the court slapped Miller Ronald O’Neil, the Guyanese captain of the vessel that carted the narcotic drugs, with a 20-year jail term, while Seth Grant, a Ghanaian based in Brazil, got a 15-year sentence.

They both pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in criminal conspiracy, importation of narcotics without lawful authority and possession of narcotic drugs and were convicted on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently.

Substance was cocaine

Prior to the conviction, the Head of Drugs and Forensic Laboratory of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Mr Martin Adarkwah Yiadom, had conducted a random test on three slabs and two tested positive outright for cocaine. The result of the third slab, according to him, needed further analysis because it tested partially positive for cocaine.

The court permitted officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency of the Department of Justice in Virginia, USA to pick 30 different samples, each weighing one gram, for further testing in the USA.

Meanwhile, 413 slabs of the seized cocaine have been destroyed. Per the court's orders, the remaining slab is being kept in the registrar’s custody until the final determination of the case.

The burning of the cocaine, which took place on January 7, 2014, was witnessed by the trial judge, officials from the NACOB, the Environmental Protection Agency, GSA and media.

Facts of the case

In November, 2013, NACOB received information on the suspicious movement of a vessel, Atiyah Ex-Alisam, with registration number 000471, which was heading towards Ghana. According to the said information, the vessel was from British Guyana-George Town.  As a result, the security agencies, including the Ghana Navy,  Police and National Security, were alerted.

The vessel was eventually intercepted on November 19, 2013 by the Western Naval Command in Takoradi.

A search on it revealed 21 fertiliser sacks smeared with engine oil containing 414 slabs of compressed substances. A field test indicated that the substances were cocaine.

The prosecutor said O’Neil, the captain, had told them the drugs were to be delivered to someone in Ghana, but they could not mention the name of the recipient, adding that he had the contact of the recipient.

According to O’Neil, the drugs were to be delivered on the high seas for a fee of $50,000, while other members of the crew were to take various sums of money.