THE REPUBLIC vs. AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT [2009]DLHC8938

THE REPUBLIC vs. AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND BEYOND THE JURISDICTION O... [2009]DLHC8938

Date	2009-12-23
Suit No.	CASE NO. ACC 15/2010
Citation No.	[2009]DLHC8938

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE SAMUEL MARFUL-SAU

ASIAMA-SAMPONG FOR THE REPUBLIC.

ADDO- ATUAH WITH PAUL ACHEAMPONG AND ADJEI LARTEY FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.

[2009]DLHC8938
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:
&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>AUGUSTINA ABU AND OTHERS AT LARGE AND
BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

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; &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>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>ASIAMA-SAMPONG FOR THE REPUBLIC.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

ADDO- ATUAH, WITH
PAUL ACHEAMPONG AND ADJEI LARTEY FOR THE FIRST ACCUSED.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;HIS
LORDSHIP JUSTICE SAMUEL MARFUL-SAU<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;border-right:none;
padding:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none;
mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</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, PNDC 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><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</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 herei</main>