Crime & Punishment of Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Source: GNA

Police make a huge haul of suspected cannabis

The police have intercepted a large quantity of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis that was being transported to Takoradi from Techiman in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

It was concealed in travellers’ bags, a fertilizer sack, basket, and a lady’s hand bag and loaded on a metro mass transit (MMT) bus.

Two people, a woman and a man, are being held responsible, and their arrest followed the alertness of the MMT’s management at the Abrepo terminal in Kumasi.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Charles Appiah, Head of the Ashanti Regional Police Drug Law Enforcement Unit, gave the names of the suspects as 52-year Adwoa Serwaah, a fishmonger, and Mamudu Yussif, a 21-year old farmer.

He told a media briefing that one other person “is on the run and everything is being done to track him down and bring him to justice”.

He said their investigations revealed that the stuff had been transported on a MMT bus from Techiman to Kumasi on December 5, en-route to Takoradi.

Whilst transiting at the transport company’s Abrepo terminal, the management became suspicious and informed the police, who quickly moved in to seize the drug and the suspects, while their other accomplice managed to slip through.

ASP Appiah said they would be put before court as soon as the police completed their investigation.

In a separate development, the Regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, has called on the public to aid the crime fighting by providing the police with useful leads.

He said there was the need for stronger cooperation between the people and the security agencies to win the battle against those who have chosen to live outside the law.

He was speaking at a forum held at Ash-Town, Kumasi, as part of the drive to engage the communities and strengthen their involvement in combating crime in the region.

DCOP Boakye spoke of plans to maintain a strong police presence in the community, one of the hot-spots in the metropolis and encouraged the formation of neighbourhood watch committee to complement the efforts of the police.