Sarpong, Justice

The responsibility as which outfit is to blame for the cocaine confiscated on August 28, 2008 turning into sodium bicarbonate should be blamed solely on the Police and this my assertion is based just on common sense. I will lay down my common sense approach and argument as to why I believe tha Police service is the one to blame for the chemical change in components of the cocaine turning into Sodium Bicarbonate.

"On August 22, 2008, Nana Ama was arrested with a slab of substances suspected to be cocaine and when it was subjected to a chromatography test it proved positive of cocaine.The substance had been in the custody of the Police for the past three years until when hearing commenced this year and the defence counsel insisted that the drugs should be re-tested at the Ghana Standards Board (GSB)."

I know the President has ordered investigation to unravel how 'Houdini' was able to conjure magic to turn a pure white cocaine into sodium Bicarbonate and we all should wait patiently to see what the committee will find but this is Ghana and NDC administration where a black little goat can turn into a white big cow so I will indulge my brain to help me come up with my own common sense approach of finding the truth.

First and foremost it is a law in Ghana that drug cases are non-bailable, how the lawyers or drafters of the Law, Parliament enacted such a stupid law is not in contention in this article but how dumb is it to allow murderers and child rapists to be bailable and narcotic traffickers not bailable should be left alone for Ghanaians to figure out but somewhere somehow, this beauty Nana Ama Martin was bailed after many appearnces at the court.

Nana Ama beauty Martin sensing the predicament she was in jumped bail and fled to United States of America caring less about the surety's GHc60,000. How do you get a bird that has flew out of the nest back to it is next to impossible and that is how Nana Ama Martin's sojourn to America posed to the Surety getting his or her money by getting Nana Ama beauty Martin back to Ghana.

Now folks, this is where we all have to employ our brains and make sense why Nana Ama beauty Martin, safely tucked in the arms of a lucky dude will risk the comfort, freedom in USA and return to Ghana. Folks, we are all human beings, if you are facing at least twenty years in prison in Ghana what will propel you to leave the comfort of USA and return to Ghana to go to prison for at least twenty years when the slab confiscated from you has tested positive for cocaine? Human nature will spur you to stay in USA and avoid long incarceration in a dingy Ghana prison but beauty Nana Ama Martin risked it and returned to Ghana according to information available in the forum, after the Surety has talked to her to come back.

First, let be truth to ourselves and answer this question truthfully. How many of us reading this article will return from USA being free to a certain arrest and possibly spending the better part of your life in a dingy Ghanaian prison? Yes, there is nowhere better than home but there is everywhere better than the best and comfortable prison in the world and nobody, maybe except somebody one can short of a six pack will do what Nana Ama beauty Martin did by returning to Ghana. But believe me, that lady doesnt look like a fool to me who will put her life in danger like that.

Now, you might be asking yourself at this stage why she did that. Why did she leave the comfort of USA to come to Ghana to go to prison. The answer is that, before Nana Ama left USA for Ghana, she was assured by somebody that the cocaine has turned into sodium Bicarbonate and she will be freed the moment she goes to court the first day. That is the only way any sensible person who has safely fled a certain prison sentence will return to Ghana. LET ME REPEAT IT, NANA AMA BEAUTY MARTIN WAS HUNDRED PERTCENT ASSURED BEFORE SHE PACKED BAG AND BAGGAGE IN USA TO COME TO GHANA THAT, THE COCAINE HAS TURNED INTO SALT. There is no other way this Beauty Queen of a lady who will not find it hard to get any Ghanaian rich man in America to provide all her needs would have returned to Ghana to go to prison. Folks, did you see this lady's picture? Let Zeta Okaikwoi eat her heart out. I would have tethered to a gold post and keep a twenty four security that, she does not leave the shores of Houston to return to Accra.

Ok, if she was assured that the cocaine has turned into salt when she was in USA, who then was in possession of the cocaine at that time? THE POLICE. Don't tell me Nana Ama beauty Martin was promised that, she should come to Ghana and when the custody of the cocaine change hands to the court, there is somebody there willing to change it, nobody facing twenty years or more in prison will go by any promise but a concrete assurance that such an endevour has already been achieved.

Now some people are asking why her lawyer should ask for the cocaine to be tested again. As unusual as it seems, such a thing is done all the time in Europe and USA and I bet Ghanaian law allows the defence Lawyer to request retesting of exhibits if she or he so desire. Remember the O.J Simpson case where the Defence team did their own DNA tests?

The court has custody of the now cocaine or sodium Bicarbonate for just one day and the Police want you to know that, the court was aware when the Police gave it the court the "COCAINE" on September 27th 2011 that, it was cocaine and the court accepted it or knew it was cocaine. Now ask yourself, did the Police test the exhibit(Cocaine) in court on September 27th and it tested cocaine or the Police just told the court, "YOUR HONOR, BELIEVE US, THIS IS A COCAINE" and the court relied on the Police assurance and accepted it as it was presented? Folks, that is what happened. The court took the cocaine from the Police with the assurance that, what they seized on August 28th 2008 which tested for cocaine is what they were giving to the court. Though it is possible the court could have swapped sodium bicarbonate for the cocaine, the return of Nana Ama Beauty Martin to Ghana from USA tells me that, She Nana Ama knew before she came to Ghana that, HOUDINI HAS PERFORMED HIS MAGIC. The Police is using the court as a scapegoat.

Now the defence Attorney, who may or may not have known what the outcome of a new test will be asked the court to have the exhibit tested by GSB. The first test was done at the Police Forensic laboratory so the Defence Attorney has the right to request the exhibit to be tested by an independent laboratory that is not part of the Prosecution team.

Three different tests were done at the GSB laboratory and all three tested negative for cocaine. The preliminary test being the first phase of indentifying the substance called the field or screen test was carried out, but it also proved to be negative.

"In order to confirm the accuracy of results, another test known as Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) was done. The TLC is a technique that is use for separating organic compounds, and it is often used to monitor the progress of organic reactions and to check the purity of products. It also proved negative." A third test called Gas Chromatography was again carried out on the substance and once again the test proved negative."

Now the question still rages on, the court and the Police after using common sense approach here, who do you think swapped the exhibit to favor the accused, NANA AMA BEAUTY MARTIN? Personally I believe the Police had the custody of the cocaine for three years as compared to the one day the court took possession of it is more likely to have performed the Houdini magic.

Justice Sarpong

Houston, Texas