Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) has impounded a Kia truck full of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis at Buokono, near Asesewa in the Upper Manya Krobo District of the Eastern Region.
NACOB made the disclosure of the seized suspected cannabis in a statement issued in Accra yesterday and signed by the Head of its Communication and Media Relations Unit, Nana Osei Nkwantabisa.
According to the statement, “NACOB in the latter part of 2017 had a tip-off on a boat from Dzemeni in the Volta Region, which was loaded with cannabis and had offloaded its content onto a truck at a village near Asesewa with its final destination being Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.”
It continued “NACOB in collaboration with the District Police Command at Asesewa intercepted the said truck with registration number ER 105-13 and arrested the driver, one Stephen Narteh Sangmortey, while his accomplice fled upon sensing danger when security officers stopped their vehicle for checks.”
A search conducted on the truck, the statement said, revealed sacks filled with dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, packed onto the bucket of the truck and covered with a tarpaulin.
“In all, 124 sacks all containing dried leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa (wee) were retrieved from the truck,” the statement revealed.
“These comprised 72 sacks of compressed dried leaves and 52 sacks of uncompressed dried leaves, all suspected to be cannabis. The 72 sacks of compressed dried leaves were further found to contain 4,326 slabs of compressed cannabis,” the statement further disclosed.
According to NACOB, the estimated gross weight of the seized cannabis is 5 tonnes, with street value of approximately half a million Ghana Cedis (GH 500,000).
The purported owner of the consignment is one Nicholas Lartey (aka Nharyo) who is currently at large. The driver of the truck, Stephen Narteh Sangmortey was put before court and subsequently remanded in prisons custody.
To this end, NACOB in the statement assured Ghanaians of its continuous commitment aimed at curbing the illicit drug trade.
“The public is therefore, encouraged to voluntarily provide information leading to the arrest of persons suspected to be indulging in nefarious activities especially in narcotics related acts.
…NACOB as part of its strategies to intensify the advocacy campaign against drug abuse and trafficking is calling on the youth to refrain from engaging in acts that would jeopardise their future,” the statement noted.
<<Print>>