Ezekiel Ojay Gilbert-Smith, a man accused of conspiring with two others to export 144 compressed slabs of cocaine to the United Kingdom, has appeared before an Accra High Court.
Gilbert-Smith charged with engaging in criminal conspiracy to commit an offence, attempted exportation of narcotic drugs without license issued by the Minister of Health and possession of narcotic drugs weighing 142.9 kg for trafficking without authority, pleaded not guilty.
Gilbert-Smith has been remanded into police custody to reappear on February 24, 2025.
The Court presided over by Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie who declined bail held that the accused has not demonstrated sufficiently that he would appear to stand trial when granted bail.
Louis Kudzo Blewusi, who represented the accused, prayed for bail, saying that from the facts of the prosecution, no substance was found on the accused.
“Some other persons who were named in the facts were the ones who were in possession of the substance.”
According to the defence counsel, the accused was in court because he was mentioned during a plea bargaining.
Mr Frederick Adu-Gyamfi, a State Attorney, who opposed the application for bail pending trial, said the accused was not being tried because he was mentioned in a plea bargaining between the state and the accused.
Prosecution said the accused was identified as the person who contracted others to carry suitcases full of narcotics drugs to the United Kingdom.
The State Attorney held that the accused, if granted bail, would not appear to stand trial.
According to prosecution, the accused has no permanent place of abode within the jurisdiction adding the accused has no ties within the jurisdiction hence would not appear to stand trial.
Prosecution’s case was that on June 10, 2024, at about 7:20 pm, one Omar Adel Graham and Ethline Shamin Hall who were travelling together were going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport to board British Airways Flight BAO78 to Gatwick, in the United Kingdom.
During profiling, they were accosted by officials of the Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC) on suspicion of trafficking in narcotic drugs.
Prosecution said searches were conducted on them and in their hand luggage, but no narcotic drugs were found.
However, they identified their six (6) checked in suitcases at the tarmac.
Prosecution said of the six suitcases, each of these persons had three suitcases tagged in their names, respectively.
They claimed ownership of their three suitcases, which were tagged in their respective names, as well as their contents. When the suitcases were opened in their presence, each suitcase was found to contain twenty-four (24) compressed slabs of whitish substances suspected to be cocaine.
Prosecution held that in all,144 compressed slabs of whitish substances were found.
When a field test was conducted on these substances, they proved positive for cocaine, a narcotic drug.
Prosecution said the 144 compressed slabs of whitish substances were forwarded to Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) for analytical examination.
The GSA test proved positive for cocaine with a total net weight of 142.9kg.
Omar Adel Graham informed the NACOC officials that the suitcases and their contents were given to him by some people he did not know.
Graham indicated that he was contracted by one Toney Wise and Taj to come to Ghana in order to bring the six suitcases and their contents to the United Kingdom for a fee.
According to him, the trip he and Ethline Shamin Hall made to Ghana was wholly paid for by Tony Wise and Taj, adding that in April 2024, Tony Wise and Taj paid for his trip to Ghana where he took two suitcases to them in the United Kingdom for a fee of £5,000.
Durng investigations, Gilbert-Smith was identified by the other convicted accused persons as the person who gave the suitcases containing the narcotic drugs to them to be taken to the United Kingdom.
Prosecution said on July 17, 2024, Gilbert-Smith was arrested whilst he was going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport to board a British Airline flight to the United Kingdom.
Graham and Hall identified the accused person, Gilbert-Smith, as the one who gave them the suitcases containing the 144 compressed slabs.
Graham and Hall entered a plea agreement with the republic after which they were convicted and sentenced.
GNA