The suspects and the compressed slabs
THE FOUR persons arrested at the Swissport Cargo Terminal of the Kotoka International Airport in connection with suspected cocaine, have been granted a bail of GH¢13 million each, bringing the total to GH¢52 million.
A Circuit Court in Accra, presided over by Mrs. Sedinam Awo Kwadam, has ordered the accused persons; Gariba Soli, Josiah Biney, Emmanuel Mintah and Kwabena Ampofo Anti to provide four sureties each as well as deposit their passports at the court’s registry as part of the bail terms.
Again, one of the sureties must provide justification with a landed property valued at GH¢1 million, while two others must be civil servants earning not less than GH¢5,000 per month.
The four were arrested on April 23, 2025 at the terminal, allegedly attempting to export 73 slabs of substances suspected to be cocaine without a licence.
They are currently in the custody of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) where they were earlier remanded to by the court, as investigations into the matter continue.
They have been charged with four offences; one count of attempted exportation of narcotics, conspiracy to export narcotic drugs without licence, conspiracy to possess narcotic drugs and possession of narcotic drugs without licence.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them by the state. They have all been placed on Stop List at all exit points, including air, sea, and road.
The accused persons have also been ordered to report to NACOC two times every week until further directed.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, during a routine physical examination of outbound cargoes destined for Brussels, the Narcotics Control Commission officers stationed at the Export Section of the Swissport Cargo Terminal allegedly intercepted three packages made of wooden boxes.
The intercepted boxes were en route to the Netherlands. Court documents indicate that an initial examination of the packages revealed assorted wooden artifacts with no incriminating items.
However, when they were emptied and scanned, the analysed images revealed the presence of false compartment in each box.
The documents note that those compartments were deconstructed and found to contain a total of 73 compressed slabs of suspected narcotics.
The court was further informed that when a sampled slab was cut open, a whitish powdery substance was discovered which allegedly tested positive for cocaine.
All four suspects were arrested at the scene and taken to the NACOC Headquarters for investigation.
During the preliminary investigation, all suspects denied knowledge of the concealed narcotics but suspect Soli, acting as the shipper of the intercepted packages, stated that he had been engaged by one Patrick to export these artifacts to the Netherlands on his behalf.
He claimed to have been working with representatives of Patrick in Ghana, known only as Onik and Imex, since January 2025.
He is said to have told investigators that the three wooden boxes were delivered to him by Onik at the premises of the Art Exhibition Centre.
Soli also allegedly stated that he, together with his colleagues, loaded the empty boxes with assorted wooden artifacts, sealed them with nails, and dispatched them to Swissport on April 14, 2025.
The brief facts further indicated that Soli allegedly stated that the packages remained with the agents (Ansahdys Shipping & Logistics) until he was called and invited to witness the examination of his cargo, where he was subsequently arrested.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak