COP, ONE OTHER PLEAD NOT GUILTY

CONSTABLE Ekow Russel of the Accra Regional Police Headquarters, and Maxwell Antwi, a car dealer today pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Accra Fast Track High Court on three counts of narcotic-related offences.
The policeman is facing three counts of possession of narcotic drugs, supply of narcotic drugs and dealing in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs while his civilian accomplice faces one count of possession of narcotic drugs without authority.
Constable Russel and seven other colleagues were earlier arraigned at an Accra Circuit Court on charges relating to the supply of narcotic drugs, stealing narcotic drugs and abetment of crime in prohibited business relating to narcotics.
Two of the accused persons, Sergeant Francis Arthur and Lance Corporal George Akoi, were each granted bail in the sum of ¢300 million with a surety to be justified, while the rest were remanded.
The other policemen are Lance Corporal Isaac Annan, Lance Corporal Dominic Ameza, Constable Collins Ohemeng, Inspector Oppong Kyei, the Station Officer of the Monitors Unit of the Accra Region, and Lance Corporal Tony Adjei.
At the lower court, Antwi pleaded not guilty to one count of possessing narcotic drugs without authority, while Constable Russel pleaded not guilty to one count of supplying narcotic drugs without authority.
The other policemen pleaded not guilty to abetment of crime in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs.
The facts of the old case were that on March 27, 2007, personnel from the Organised Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service Headquarters arrested Antwi with cocaine and, during interrogation, he mentioned Constable Russel as his source of supply.
He told the police that it was part of some 900 grammes of a substance that Constable Russel gave to him to sell and added that he had already sold some and given the money to Constable Russel.
Constable Russel confirmed the story when he was also arrested and explained that he obtained the substance from some Nigerian dealers he arrested.
He said on his arrest, Constable Russel admitted the offence and stated that the cocaine had been taken from certain Nigerian dealers in Tema on January 16, 2007.
Constable Russel said when the Nigerians, Sebastian Uba and Matthew Nkumado, were arrested, eight slabs of the substance were seized but only one slab was delivered to the office to make a case against the dealers.
On January 31, 2007, Uba mysteriously escaped from Constable Russel when he had been instructed to bring the Nigerian from the La Police Station to the Regional Police Headquarters.