Bwogo Federick
A Ugandan, who has been put before an Accra High Court for expelling 67 pellets of cocaine mixed with heroin, says he transported the drugs under duress and out of necessity.
Frederick Bugo, a marketing manager, is before the court on charges of possessing narcotic drugs without authority and importation of narcotics without licence.
He pleaded guilty with explanation.
The court, presided over by Justice Edward Charles Ekow Baiden, entered a plea of not guilty, noting that Bugo’s explanation constituted a defence in law.
Bugo said a man with gun compelled him to swallow 67 out of 100 pellets, adding that the said man offered him $1,500 to deliver the drugs to someone in Ghana.
He told the court that he could not watch his kids become beggars, school dropouts or robbers.
The court remanded him into police custody to reappear on July 30.
The prosecutor Mercy Arthur, a Senior State Attorney, is expected to call four witnesses for the trial.
Prosecution said on April 25, this year at about 12:00am, operatives of the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) were on their routine check at the Kotoka International Airport.
The NACOB operatives suspected Bugo of carrying drugs and put him under 48 hour surveillance during which he expelled the 67 pellets.
Prosecution said the drugs were forwarded to the Ghana Standard Authority for examination, and test proved positive for cocaine and heroin.
GNA