Cocaine smuggling: Circuit Court remands 4 person in NACOC’s custody

An Accra circuit court has remanded four persons into the custody of the Narcotics Control Commission for their alleged involvement in an attempt to transport narcotics drugs at the Swissport cargo terminal of Kotoka International Airport on April 23.

The four, Gariba Soli, Josiah Biney, Emmanuel Minta, and Kwabena Ampofo Anti have been charged with attempted exportation of narcotics drugs without license, conspiracy to commit crime, possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and conspiracy to commit crime.

Gariba Soli, is an artifact dealer operating from the Art Exhibition Center in Accra while Josiah Biney, Emmanuel Minta, and Kwabena Ampofo Anti are freight forwarders and employees of Ansahdys shipping and Logistics Co. Ltd, located at the Avance Cargo Village at Kotoka International Airport.

Per the facts of the case, authorized officers stationed at the Export Section of the Swissport Cargo Terminal, during a routine physical examination on outbound cargoes destined for Brussels on Wednesday, April 23, intercepted three packages made of wooden boxes on suspicion of concealing narcotic drugs.

The intercepted boxes were enroute to the Netherlands. An initial examination of the packages revealed assorted wooden artifacts with no incriminating items.

However, when the boxes were emptied of their contents and scanned, the analyzed images allegedly indicated the presence of false compartment in each box. The compartments according to the Prosecution allegedly deconstructed and found to contain a total of seventy-three (73) compressed slabs of suspected narcotics.

When cut open, a sampled slab revealed a whitish powdery substance, which field- tested positive for cocaine, a narcotic drug. All four suspects were arrested at the scene and taken to the NACOC Headquarters for investigation.

During the preliminary investigation, all suspects denied knowledge of the concealed narcotics.

During interrogation, suspect Soli, acting as the shipper of the intercepted packages, stated that he had been engaged by one Patrick to export these artifacts to the Netherlands on his behalf.

He claimed to have been working with a representative of Patrick in Ghana, known only as Onik and Imex, since January 2025. He revealed that the three wooden boxes were delivered to him by Onik at the premises of the Art Exhibition Center. Gariba Soli stated that he, together with his colleagues, loaded the empty boxes with assorted wooden artifacts, sealed them with nails, and dispatched them to Swissport on Sunday, April 14, 2025.

The art dealer further stated that the packages remained with the agents (Ansahdys Shipping& Logistics) until he was called and invited to witness the examination of his cargo, where he was subsequently arrested.

Prosecutors prayed the court to remand the suspects pending the final report from the Ghana Standards Authority.

Presiding judge Offei Ayeh ordered the defense lawyers to formally file their application for bail and remanded the suspects to two weeks in NACOC custody.

They are to reappear on May 6.

The post Cocaine smuggling: Circuit Court remands 4 person in NACOC’s custody first appeared on 3News.

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