Kumasi, Aug. 20, GNA - A team of surgeons at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) last Wednesday, retrieved 73 pellets of cocaine from the stomach of a patient during a surgery.

Sources close to KATH told Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Mohammed Joojo Mensah, the patient complained of severe stomach pains which compelled the surgeons to perform an emergency operation on him. The source said the pellets were removed after two of them had already burst inside the stomach.

It said Mohammed recovered from the surgery and undergoing post-operative care at KATH.

The source said Mohammed who swallowed the pellets decided not to board a flight to Spain when the aircraft was ready to take off due to the severe stomach ache.

It said suspecting that some of the pellets had burst and about to die, Mohammed called his sponsors who directed him to a private surgeon for an emergency surgery.

The source said, the surgeon charged 12,000 Euros for the operation but because they could not afford and his condition being worsened, sought the assistance of a relative in Kumasi who asked him to come over for the operation.

It said on arrival at KATH, Mohammed was sent to the theatre for the surgery to remove the pellets. The source said the matter was reported to the police and Mohammed undergoing post-operative care at KATH was under heavy police guard.