A Circuit Court in Tema has sentenced two police officers to a combined 13 years in prison for unlawful possession and conspiracy to traffic narcotic substances.
The court, presided over by Her Ladyship Aleanor Kakra Barnes Botchway, convicted Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nasiru Amadu and Corporal Emmanuel Mintah after nearly four years of trial.
The prosecution, led by ASP Ernest Kuofie, stated the case began in 2023 when an officer at the Afienya District Police Command reported suspicious activities involving the two.
At the time, Amadu, 48, was the second-in-command at the Sakumono District Police Headquarters, while Mintah, 43, served under him as a service driver. On November 19, 2023, officers on snap-check duty received intelligence that a Nissan Navara with registration number GP 727 was transporting narcotics from Ho to Accra.
At about 7:15 p.m., the accused officers arrived at the checkpoint and were intercepted.
A search of their vehicle uncovered eight sacks containing 541 compressed parcels of substances suspected to be narcotics. Investigations further revealed that Mintah had a relative, popularly known as ‘Oluman’, a resident of Ashaiman Tulaku and a known narcotics dealer.
On the day of the incident, Mintah had been contracted by ‘Oluman’ to transport Indian hemp from Peki Tsibu in the Volta Region to Tulaku. Mintah contacted Amadu, who also communicated with ‘Oluman’ to finalise the arrangement.
The two officers then drove vehicle GP 727 from Sakumono to a forest near Peki Tsibu, where they received the drugs from a Benz bus.
They were arrested on their way back to Accra. It later emerged that this was the second time the officers had engaged in such an operation.
The Forensic Crime Laboratory confirmed the seized substances as narcotics.
The court ruled that the two officers unlawfully possessed narcotics for trafficking, contrary to Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, and Section 37(2)(b) of the Narcotic Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019).
ASP Amadu and Corporal Mintah were sentenced to 10 and 5 years, respectively, to run concurrently. They were additionally fined 10,000 penalty units (GH¢120,000) each, or in default, they would serve an additional three years in prison.
