ACCRA, June 27 (Reuters) - A tribunal in Ghana sentenced a diplomat to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for cocaine dealing while posted in Geneva, the official Ghana News Agency reported.

Frank Benneh, an intelligence officer, was found guilty on five counts of dealing in cocaine, but was granted bail pending an appeal.

He was sent back to Ghana for trial after Swiss authorities arrested him and two other men on suspicion of dealing in cocaine.

Benneh pleaded not guilty, saying that when he was arrested in January 1996 he was in fact following the two other men, who he suspected were Ghanaians dealing in drugs. The other two turned out not to be Ghanaian.

BENNEH JAILED 20 YRS -Graphic

By Paul Awortwi-Mensah

AN Accra Regional Tribunal yesterday sentenced Frank Benneh, 48, a former Minister Counsellor at Ghana’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations in Switzerland, to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for dealing in narcotic drugs.

The tribunal entered the sentence of guilty in a majority decision when the two panel members, Messrs S. Y. Kuamoah and Andrew Dartey, found him guilty with the chairman of the tribunal, Mr. Justice G. Wright Mensah dissenting.

Benneh was found guilty on all the five counts of possessing narcotic drugs, undertaking activities relating to narcotic drugs, supplying narcotic drugs, buying narcotic drugs and abetment of buying narcotic drugs and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.

He was, however, granted bail pending the hearing of an appeal he filed at the same tribunal after the sentence.

Mr. Ray Kakraba-Quarshie, counsel for Benneh, quoted Section 23 sub section 1-3 of Act 459 of 1993, and said if the defence gives notice of appeal to the trial court after a judgement, the trial tribunal is obliged to grant bail to the accused and prayed the tribunal to grant bail to Benneh.

Mr. Kakraba-Quarshie continued that the same section states that if the decision of the court is of a majority decision and the majority decision does not include the chairman of the panel, the tribunal must grant bail to the accused person pending trial at the appeal court subject to the convenience of the court.

The tribunal, however, granted Benneh bail in the sum of ?10 million or a landed property with two sureties to be justified.

It ordered Benneh to surrender his passport to the police and also asked him to report to the police every Monday until the final determination of the case.

Giving their verdict, the panel members indicated that during the proceedings, Benneh did not object to any of the documents tendered in court but only said the whole episode was a plot to frame him up.

The majority said although Benneh denied dealing in drugs, he admitted that he knew one Carbo and one Seidu, two hardened drug dealers who were arrested with him.

The majority said on the issue of how his passport number 003473 was found in the house of one Osbert Atum, a hardened drug dealer, evidential document at the tribunal indicated that the passport was deposited with Osbert as a security for the supply of cocaine, adding that, Benneh in his evidence did not give any tangible reason as to how that passport got to that house.

Presenting the minority verdict, Mr. Justice Mensah said during the period of the proceedings, the prosecutor failed to exhibit the said drug before the court for the court to have a fair idea of what it is trying the accused person for.

He said although the investigator mentioned that during his investigations, he got to know that 15 grammes of cocaine were found on Benneh and that the drugs had been burnt by the Swiss authorities under a court order, the prosecution did not tender any scientific report in court to enable the court to know the type of drugs Benneh was dealing in and the weight of the drug.

Mr. Justice Mensah said the only evidence that the tribunal relied on were documents sent by the Swiss authorities, adding that, the declarants of these documents were also not available to be cross-examined.

The tribunal chairman pointed out that Benneh in his defence challenged the authenticity of all these documents and even the alleged unsworn statement he was purported to have given to the investigator and said Benneh’s case can be substantiated with the fact that there was no independent witness who attested to that unsworn statement.

He said since there was no cross-examination on the declarants of these 30 and more documents, there can be no doubt that the accused person can free himself from the charges preferred against him, adding that, “it may be unfair to allow evidence in chief not to be cross-examined and said these documents must be dismissed as evidence against the accused”.

Mr. Mensah emphasised that no document of the witnesses can be used against the accused person and said the witnesses must come themselves and give evidence to be cross examined.

The Tribunal Chairman added that the fact that the Swiss authorities did not allow Inspector William Becker, the undercover agent who arrested Benneh to come down to Ghana to give evidence in court and be cross-examined shows that the documents could not be relied on.

On the loss of Benneh’s passport, Mr. Justice Mensah said in his evidence in chief, Benneh told the tribunal that the passport had got missing and that he had reported it at the police station.

He said it was up to the police to have contacted that police station to find out the truth of the matter.

Mr. Mensah, however, said the prosecution has failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused dealt in drugs and, therefore, acquitted and discharged him.

The state was represented by Mr. Mike Afriyie, Principal State Attorney, Mr. Twumasi Ankrah, Assistant State Attorney and were led by Mr. Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).