<<Print>>

Two students standing trial for allegedly possessing dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp were last Wednesday discharged by the Accra Circuit Court. The students, whose names are being withheld for technical reasons, are residents of Hohoe in the Volta Region. The juveniles were charged with conspiracy to commit crime and supply of narcotic drugs, charges they pleaded guilty to. They were arrested while riding an unregistered motorbike on August 23, 2013, about 4 p.m. on the Accra-Tema Motorway. They were also in possession of 10 parcels of dried leaves. Discharging the accused persons, the court, presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, justified their release on the grounds that the trial had gone beyond the required six months. �The case of a juvenile charged with an offence before a juvenile court shall be dealt with expeditiously and if the case is not completed within six months of the juvenile�s first appearance in court, the juvenile shall be discharged and is not liable for further proceedings in respect of the same offence,� the judge quoted section 33 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Background The fact of the case, as presented at an earlier sitting by Inspector P. B. Yiadom, was that both suspects were students living in Hohoe. On August 28, 2013, about 4 p.m., policemen on patrol duty along the Accra-Tema Motorway intercepted the two accused persons who were riding an unregistered Sanya motorbike, he said. When a search was conducted on them, the police found 10 parcels of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp on one of them, he added. Inspector Yiadom said they were subsequently arrested and handed over to the police together with the substance. �In the course of investigations, the juveniles stated that they brought the dried leaves all the way from Hohoe to be supplied to one S.K, whom they were meeting at Tetteh Quarshie Circle,� he said.