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Ghana: Indian Hemp Tycoons Jailed 30 Years
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Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008
Magdalene Sey
Cape Coast
Three top Indian hemp distributors in the Central Region, Phillip Kobina Mensah, 52, Joseph Spio Garbrah, 42 and Kojo Asmah, 36, who have been distributing Indian hemp in the region, for more than 40 years, were on Friday, sentenced to a total of 30 years imprisonment with hard labour, by a Cape Coast High Court.
Each of the three was sentenced to 10 years in prison, by the court presided over by Justice J. K Dogu, after pleading guilty to the charge.
Briefing the court, a Principal State Attorney at the Attorney General's Department, Mrs. Hannah Taylor, said on July 18, 2007 at about 7:20pm, the police at Saltpond had a tipoff that some Indian hemp dealers were hiding at Christian Village, a suburb of Mankessim.
She said the Saltpond police immediately mounted a search team, with Chief Inspector Patrick Andrew Yeboah as the leader, to apprehend the culprits at their hideout.
Mrs. Taylor further told the court that upon reaching there, the detectives had stiff opposition from the convicts.
This, she said, resulted in a situation where one policeman, Constable Patrick Asante, sustained serious injuries.
She said Constable Asante was rushed to the Saltpond Hospital, where he was treated and discharged on the same day.
In the ensuing riot, Philip, the leader of the group, managed to escape, but Spio Garbrah and Asmah were arrested.
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When a search was conducted on them, 13 wrappers of Indian hemp were found on Spio Garbrah, while 19 were found on Asmah.
Phillip was later arrested upon a tipoff, with 128 parcels of Indian hemp in his possession.
A further search of his room led to the discovery of 10 large parcels of Indian hemp, a cutlass, an aluminium basin, and three pairs of scissors, as well as a Sony radio player.
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