[2009]DLHC7832 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#00B0F0">THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua";color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center; line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; color:#00B0F0">AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%; border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm; mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">CASE NO. ACC 15/2010 </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> DATE: 23<sup>RD</sup> DECEMBER, 2009<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">ASIAMA-SAMPONG FOR THE REPUBLIC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">ADDO- ATUAH, WITH PAUL ACHEAMPONG AND ADJEI LARTEY FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua"">CORAM:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span class="NoSpacingChar"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE SAMUEL MARFUL-SAU, JUSTICE OF APPEAL, SITTING AS ADDITIONAL HIGH COURT<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%; border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm; mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> The charge sheet registered and filed by the prosecution in this case is reproduced below:-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">COUNT ONE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">STATEMENT OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">COUNT TWO<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">STATEMENT OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">PARTICULARS OF OFFENCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">Augustina Abu, on or about 19<sup>th</sup> 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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">FACTS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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. 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></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">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 coca