Nine men have appeared in court charged with drug-related offences after 72 parcels of a substance suspected be cocaine have been seized from them at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region in the early hours of Tuesday.

They are Peter Boateng, 26, barber; Godwin Asumaning, 21; Fuseini Ibrahim, 32, Burkinabe; Samuel Asumaning, 30, straighter; Yusif Kamal, 38; Nana Kwantwi, 35; Francis Osei, 18; Abdulai Moro, 20 and Isaac Avesont, 18.

Police personnel from the Obuasi Divisional Command intercepted the drug at Abankwa near Obuasi Zongo, in a raid coordinated and led by ASP Kwabena Darko, Operations Officer.

While the value of the drug is yet to be determined, a magistrate court has remanded the accused persons pending further investigations.

They are expected back in court on December 3, 2015 to answer the charges preferred against them by the prosecution, led by ASP Ebenezer Diabene.

Four pairs of scissors, 12 straw pipes and several rappers of white substance believed to be cocaine as well as GH?6.70 were seized by the police.

The drug haul is believed to be one of the biggest in the region in recent years.

Seven of the accused were said to be intoxicated at the time of their arrest, and they were believed to have sniffed some of the stuff, the police said.

Peter Boateng aka Mensah aka Area, a barber resident at Antobuasi, and his counterpart, Godwin Asumaning, were identified as the ring leaders in the cocaine business in the gold town of Obuasi.