Four suspects in latest cocaine bust remanded in prison custody

Four suspects connected to the recent cocaine bust at the Swissport Cargo Terminal, located within the Aviance Cargo Village at the Kotoka International Airport, have been remanded in prison custody.

They are scheduled to reappear in court on 6 May 2025.

The suspects face four charges: attempted exportation of narcotic drugs without a licence; conspiracy to commit a crime, namely exportation of narcotic drugs without a licence; conspiracy to commit a crime, namely possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority; and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority.

According to the prosecution, the Narcotics Control Commission has not yet concluded its planned analytical examination of the suspected substances at the Ghana Standards Authority. As such, the prosecution requested that the suspects be remanded in prison custody.

One of the suspects, Gariba Soli, is reported to be an artefact dealer operating from the Art Exhibition Centre in Accra. The remaining suspects—Josiah Biney, Emmanuel Minta, and Kwabena Ampofo Anti—are freight forwarders and employees of Ansahdys Shipping and Logistics Co. Ltd, based at the Aviance Cargo Village, KIA.

The prosecution alleges that on Wednesday, 23rd April, authorised officers stationed at the Export Section of the Swissport Cargo Terminal intercepted three wooden boxes during a routine physical inspection of outbound cargo bound for Brussels.

The boxes, which raised suspicion, were reportedly destined for the Netherlands.

An initial inspection revealed that the boxes contained assorted wooden artefacts and no apparent contraband. However, when emptied and scanned, imaging revealed the presence of false compartments in each box.

Upon further examination, the compartments were dismantled, revealing a total of seventy-three (73) compressed slabs of suspected narcotic substances. When a sample slab was cut open, it exposed a whitish, powdery substance which, after field testing, returned a positive result for cocaine.

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