Police Challenge Cocaine Probe Report

The Police Administration has said that the statement by the chairman of the Kojo Armah Committee to the effect that there had been non-co-ordination in the handling of the Prampram cocaine case was untrue. It said the statement made by Mr Kojo Armah, the Chairman of the committee that investigated the missing cocaine at the Exhibits Store at the CID Headquarters, was unfounded and in bad taste. The Director of Police Public Affairs, Deputy, superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said at the weekend that the Police Administration had made available to the committee all appropriate documents, including correspondence on the handling of the case. He said Chief Superintendent Alphonse Adu-Amankwah, then the Head of the erstwhile Organised Crime Unit (OCU), had also not been involved in the arrest and transportation of the exhibits from Prampram to the cm Headquarters. He said although the Police Administration had not received a copy of the committee's report, it felt it necessary to set the records straight regarding the preliminary , comments Mr Armah made while presenting the report to the Interior Minister, Mr Kwamena Bartels, last Friday. Showing correspondence, including police wireless messages, to this reporter, DSP Ofori said the 67 parcels of cocaine had been duly received on May 23, 2006 by DSP Patrick Akagbo, in the presence of Mr Adu-Amankwah, Detective Chief Inspectors P. Bediako, E. Y. Asong and B. Ananga, and Kenneth Ugah, the suspect in the case. That, he explained, followed a wireless message signed by DSP Hubert K. Segoe, the former Administrator of the CID Headquarters, to the Tema Regional Police Commander on May 16, 2006 to submit all exhibits and documents to reach the OCU immediately DSP Ofori said after receiving the drugs the CID administration decided to invite officials of Ghana Standards Board (GSB) to examine the drugs on the sixth floor of the CID Headquarters on July 10, 2006 because the quantity of drugs was huge. He said the drugs had been resealed with GSB seals.