A 28-year-old sales girl, Sumaiya Amidu, has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court for unlawful possession of narcotic drugs, contrary to Section 37(1) of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019).
In addition to the custodial sentence, the court, presided over by His Honour Mr. Isaac Addo of Circuit Court 2, also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units, equivalent to GHC120,000. In default, she will serve an additional three years in prison.
The case, which went through a full trial, involved a significant quantity of cocaine intended for trafficking. Sumaiya was convicted after the court found her guilty of possessing 165 gold foil wraps of cocaine, with a total net weight of 7.1940 grammes, without lawful authority.
According to the prosecution, led by ASP Seth Frimpong, officers from the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the CID Headquarters in Accra acted on intelligence and arrested the accused on March 15, 2022, at a cosmetic store in Sabon Zongo, a suburb of Abosey Okai in the Greater Accra Region.
A search conducted on Sumaiya led to the discovery of the drugs concealed in her undergarments. In her caution statement, she admitted that the drugs were found on her, and claimed they were handed to her by a man identified only as Dauda, who is currently at large. However, she refused to cooperate with police efforts to apprehend him.
Subsequent forensic analysis confirmed the substance to be cocaine. Based on the evidence, she was charged and arraigned before the court.
