The Weija District Court has remanded into police custody a 39-year-old trader, Kwame Mananyi Tuanda, who was arrested for allegedly possessing a large consignment of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis.
Tuanda, a resident of La in Accra, was arrested on September 10, 2025, after a sustained surveillance operation conducted by the Accra Regional Police Intelligence Directorate.
According to the prosecution, police acted on intelligence suggesting the accused had been engaged in the narcotics trade.
Officers intercepted a Hyundai Starex Ambulance with registration number GX 277-20, which Tuanda was reportedly driving and had parked near the Jamboree Drinking Spot at Labadi-Maami.
A search of the vehicle uncovered 700 parcels and 473 wrappers of dried leaves concealed in sacks. Tuanda allegedly admitted ownership of both the vehicle and its contents at the time of his arrest.
The ambulance and its cargo were conveyed to the Accra Regional Police Headquarters, while the suspected narcotics have since been secured as exhibits and are undergoing forensic testing at the Police Forensic Science Laboratory.
Tuanda has been provisionally charged with unlawful possession of narcotic drugs, contrary to Section 37(1) of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019).
At Friday’s hearing, Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, who led the prosecution, opposed a bail application filed by defense counsel.
He argued that investigations were ongoing and stressed the need to confirm the registration details of the vehicle with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Ghana Ambulance Service.
He further maintained that Tuanda posed a flight risk and could interfere with ongoing investigations, particularly as the forensic results on the seized substances were still pending.
Defense counsel, however, insisted that the accused is a family man and the breadwinner of his household.
Counsel argued that Tuanda was not a flight risk and would not obstruct police investigations if released on bail.
The presiding judge, after listening to both sides, ruled in favor of the prosecution and remanded Tuanda into custody.
The case has been adjourned to September 25, 2025, to allow investigators to complete their work and for forensic analysis of the exhibits to be concluded.
