Police have arrested a farmer, Sampson Appiah, who was in possession of supposed narcotic drugs with street value of GH¢100 in a house at Akyeremade, near Kokofu in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The suspected Indian Hemp, popularly known as Wee, was discovered under a TV stand in the room of the accused person on October 4, 2018 by personnel of the Bekwai District Police Command.
A Bekwai Circuit Court has since remanded Sampson Appiah into prison custody to reappear on October 22, 2018.
He has been charged with possession of narcotic drug without lawful authority, contrary to Section 6(2) of the PNDC Law 236 of 1990. His plea was not taken.
The prosecutor, Detective Inspector Ofori, informed the court that the complainant in the case are police officers stationed at Bekwai District headquarters, while the accused person is a farmer residing at Akyeremade, near Kokofu .
According to him, on October 4, 2018 at about 10:30 pm, police received information that someone was dealing in dried leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp at H/No AK9 Akyeremade.
Sampson Appiah
Upon receipt of the information, Mr Ofori said some police officers and two community protection personnel were dispatched to the house occupied by Sampson Appiah, aka Alaska, and his wife Cecilia Boahemaa.
He narrated that the police officers discovered a black polythene bag containing some dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp under the TV stand during a search in the room of the accused person.
The police personnel found seeds of the dried leaves in a lady’s hand bag, but the accused person denied knowledge of the substance.
The wife said the substance belonged to the husband in her caution statement.
The police prosecutor indicated that Sampson later claimed ownership of the substance, claiming he bought the narcotic from a seller at Mayanka in Kumasi at a cost of GH¢10.
Efforts are underway to arrest the supplier while the substance has been forwarded to the police laboratory for examination.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi