THE REPUBLIC vs. AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT [2009]DLHC4806

THE REPUBLIC vs. AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION O... [2009]DLHC4806

Date	2009-12-23
Suit No.	CASE NO. ACC 15/2010
Citation No.	[2009]DLHC4806

JUSTICE SAMUEL MARFUL-SAU JUSTICE OF APPEAL

ASIAMA-SAMPONG FOR THE REPUBLIC.

ADDO- ATUAH

WITH PAUL ACHEAMPONG AND ADJEI LARTEY FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.

[2009]DLHC4806
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS
AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CASE NO. ACC 15/2010&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 23RD DECEMBER, 2009<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

JUSTICE
SAMUEL MARFUL-SAU JUSTICE OF APPEAL<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>ASIAMA-SAMPONG
FOR THE REPUBLIC.<o:p></o:p>ADDO-
ATUAH, WITH PAUL ACHEAMPONG AND ADJEI LARTEY FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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</div>On
the 16-11- 2009, I was authorised to sit as an additional High Court Judge to
hear this case by Her Ladyship, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana
under Article 139 (1) (c) of the 1992 Constitution and section 14 (1) (c) of
the Courts Act 1993,(Act 459) as amended. The first Accused person herein
Augustina Abu, from the charge sheet was charged together with others alleged
to be at large and beyond the jurisdiction of this court. However the
prosecution in this case failed to name and or identify the accused persons who
are at large and beyond the jurisdiction of this court. The first Accused
Augustina Abu and the others at large were charged jointly with one count of
engaging in criminal conspiracy to commit an offence namely importation of
cocaine, a narcotic drug. The first Accused alone was charged with additional
count of importation of narcotic drug namely cocaine without licence all
contrary to sections 56(c) and1 (1) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement
and Sanctions) Act 1990, PNDCL 236, respectively.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The charge sheet registered and filed by the
prosecution in this case is reproduced below:-<o:p></o:p>COUNT ONE<o:p></o:p>STATEMENT OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p>Engaging
in criminal conspiracy to commit an offence namely importation of cocaine, a
narcotic drug without a license issued by the Minister of Health contrary to
sections 56(c) and 1(1) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and
Sanctions) Act 1990, PNDCL 236<o:p></o:p>PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p>Augustina
Abu and others at large and beyond the jurisdiction of this court between the
months of April and May 2009 in the Greater Accra Region and within the jurisdiction
of this Court and in Guayaguil in Ecuador acted together with a common purpose
to import 56,685.7199gm of cocaine, a narcotic drug from Ecuador, South America
without a licence issued by the Minister of Health.<o:p></o:p>COUNT TWO<o:p></o:p>STATEMENT OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p>Importation
of a narcotic drug namely cocaine without a licence issued by the Minister of
Health contrary to section 1(1) of the Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and
Sanctions) Act 1990, PNDCL 236.<o:p></o:p>PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p>Augustina
Abu, on or about 19th May, 2009 at Tema Harbour, in the Greater Accra Region
and within the jurisdiction of this Court imported from Guayaguil in Ecuador in
South America 56,685.7199gm of cocaine a narcotic drug without a licence issued
by the Minister of Health.<o:p></o:p>The
first Accused person pleaded not guilty to all the two counts and for that
matter the prosecution was called upon to prove its case against the Accused
persons.<o:p></o:p>FACTS<o:p></o:p>The
brief facts of this case as presented by the prosecution are that on the
15-5-2009, the ship M/V Mearsk Nolanville docked at the Tema Port with a lot of
containers from Ecuador, Panama and Spain.&nbsp;
Among the containers was one with number MSKU 011 8160 manifested to
contain 1,880 cartons of chewing gum imported by Augustina Abu of Augustina Abu
Enterprise. Personnel of the Joint Port Control Unit (JPCU) made up of officers
from the Narcotic Control Board, Customs, Excise and Preventive Services
(CEPS), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Ghana Ports and Harbours
Authority (GPHA) and the Police tagged the said container, which meant that the
said container could only be opened and examined in the presence of JPCU
officials. <o:p></o:p>On
the 19-5- 2009, at about 3:30pm container number MSKU 0118160 was scanned and
the image disclosed that it contained suspicious objects. During a physical
examination two (2) carrier bags containing a total of sixty-one (61) slabs of
whitish substances suspected to be cocaine were found in the said container, in
addition to the cartons of chewing gum. A field test of the substances was
conducted which confirmed that the substances were cocaine, a narcotic
substance. The first Accused person, Augustina Abu, being the consignee of the
container reported herself to the Police and was subsequently arrested. Before
the arrest of the first Accused, her Clearing Agents and the driver of the
truck hired to convey the container from the Tema Port had been arrested. The
whitish substance was forwarded to the Ghana Standards Board for analytical
examination and report. The report of the examination confirmed that the
substances in the two bags were cocaine, a narcotic drug weighing
56,685.7199gm.<o:p></o:p>Based
on events of the 19-5- 2009 the first Accused herein was originally charged
with five others in case No. ACC 40/2009, for engaging in cri</main>