Accra: An Accra High Court has remanded into lawful custody two South Africans and a Nigerian accused of possessing over 16 kg of methamphetamine, a narcotic drug. This follows their arrest at the Kotoka International Airport on January 20, 2025, by officials of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC). The accused persons (names withheld) are alleged to have concealed the drugs in two suitcases.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Court, presided over by Justice Mrs Kizita Koowa Quarshie, remanded the accused, all females, to reappear on February 11, 2025. It, however, did not take their pleas as the facts and charges were also not read out. Additionally, the trial judge asked the accused persons to secure lawyers to defend them in court.
A Senior State Attorney, Mr Watkins Adamah, prayed the Court to remand the accused persons into lawful custody. 'This morning, our prayer humbly is to cause the remand of first, second and third accused persons into the custody of the NACOC pending investigations,' he stated. Mr Adamah held that the first and second accused persons were South Africans who travelled through Rwanda to Ghana and 'they were found in possession of identical suitcases which had over 16 kg methamphetamine, a narcotic drug, concealed in their suitcases.'
He further explained that a control delivery involving the first and second accused led to the arrest of the third accused person, a Nigerian who had travelled from Nigeria to Ghana. She met the first and second accused persons with similar suitcases to swap them for the narcotic drugs. The State Attorney mentioned that other people had been named, and NACOC had an interest in the matter, indicating that further investigation was needed.
The State also intends for the Ghana Standards Authority to confirm the nature of the narcotic substances retrieved from the accused persons. Consequently, the Court has remanded the accused for two weeks to allow for these investigations to proceed.
