A prosecution witness has said that music producer, Isaac Abaidu Aidoo, popularly known as Goodies, was “hard pressed for cash as a music producer” hence his swallowing of cocaine to be delivered to someone in the United Kingdom for a fee.

Anthony Smith, the Narcotic Control Board officer who arrested Aidoo at the Kotoka International Airport on April 23, said this on Thursday when he testified as the first prosecution witness in the case.

This was after the prosecution had opened its case, five months after the arrest of Aidoo who is facing two counts of attempted exportation and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority at an Accra Circuit Court.

Aidoo, who is the Chief Executive of Goodies Music Production, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Led in evidence by Valerie Amartey, Chief State Attorney, Mr. Smith said Aidoo confided in him during interrogation that one Abdul gave him the substances to be delivered to one Willie in London for a fee of 3,000 pounds sterling.

Narrating the circumstances that led to the arrest of Aidoo, Mr. Smith said about 10:30pm the accused arrived at the airport as the last but two people to board a Ghana International Airline flight to London.

According to him, Aidoo was suspected by the narcotic officials of carrying foreign materials in his stomach but could not convince the officials with his answers so he was asked to produce his urine for a narcotic test. But he failed to do so. That was when he, Mr. Smith as the commander of the officers on duty, was called in to intervene.

He said he explained to Aidoo why he should go through the test and he obliged but could still not produce the urine for the test after drinking some water. “He then suggested that if there is another way of testing him we should do that.

“He told me he had a meeting the next day in London and he did not want to miss the flight,” he added.

In view of this, Mr. Smith said he asked two of his officers, Abew and Dadzie, to take Aidoo to the 37 Military Hospital for an X-ray test, but the first result could not be interpreted.

Mr Smith said a second test was done and while the results were being awaited, he communicated with Dadzie on phone to rush Aidoo to the airport “since I didn’t want him to miss the flight which had only two hours to departure”.

According to him, when Aidoo was brought, he took his passport and rushed him to the boarding gate at which point he called Abew on phone to find out about the results of the test.

He told the court that Abew told him the results showed that Aidoo had foreign substances in his stomach. “So I politely told him I cannot allow him to travel because he had swallowed some substances. He then told me he swallowed cocaine”.

Mr. Smith said that he asked his officers to handcuff Aidoo “but he pleaded not to be handcuffed in view of his reputation”. He said he took Aidoo to the NACOB office where Aidoo told him that the substances were given to him by one Abdul resident at Adjiringanor, near East Legon.

Mr. Smith said when he asked Aidoo why he swallowed the cocaine, “he said that he was hard pressed for cash as a music producer”.

He said at about 2:30am, Aidoo was sent to Adjiringanor to show them where the said Abdul was residing but “we didn’t see him that night.” Consequently, Aidoo was handed over to the NACOB police investigators and he wrote his statement.

Asked by counsel for the accused, Mr. Oliver Atsu, whether he was satisfied with the X-ray results, Mr. Smith replied in the affirmative.

To another question by Mr. Atsu on how long he had been working at the airport, Mr. Smith said since March, this year.

The court then adjourned the case to September29.

The prosecution’s case is that Aidoo expelled 80 pellets of whitish substances suspected to be cocaine after his arrest at the airport.

The substances proved positive of cocaine upon testing by the Ghana Standards Board.

Aidoo, who is the Chief Executive of Goodies Music Production, was first put before the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal in April this year, but the case was subsequently transferred to the Circuit Court in August, upon the orders of the Chief Justice.

On September 12, he requested his first counsel, Jah Josiah, to withdraw his legal representation in the case, after which he prayed the court for a short date to enable him to secure a new counsel to defend him.