POST MASTER ARRESTS NARCOTIC SUSPECT AT FUNERAL

THE Ejisu Post Master of Ghana Post Company, who was arrested for accepting an EMS parcel containing Cannabis Sativa (Indian hemp) for postage to the United Kingdom, got himself out of trouble when he arrested the sender at a funeral in Kumasi.
Mr Richard Tawiah had earlier been remanded by the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal on a charge of abetment of crime relating to narcotic drug.
After his release on bail, Tawiah was either to look for the sender, Abena Boatema, alias Juliana Osei, or face the brunt of the law, but there was divine intervention as he spotted her having fun at a funeral in Kumasi.
That also almost landed Tawiah in another trouble because when he approached the lady, she fabricated a story that the Post Master wanted to rape her but that was not convincing enough to save her from being arrested and taken to the police station for onward transfer to Accra.
Following the arrest of Juliana, a trader, the tribunal has discharged Tawiah, who pleaded not guilty to the charge on his first appearance on February 13, 2007.
He was subsequently used as a prosecution witness against Juliana.
Juliana faces three counts of attempted exportation of Cannabis Sativa and another count of possession of that substance.
She was alleged to have attempted to respectively export 2.930 kilogrammes, 2.910 kilogrammes and 3.200 kilogrammes of the substance to Mr Opoku Adusei, Mr Osei Boateng and Mr Oppong Mensah, who are all in the UK.
She is also charged with possession of 8.186 kilogrammes of the substance.
According to the facts of the case, on December 21, last year, CEPS officials at the Aviance enforcement section in Accra intercepted three EMS parcels each containing two long compressed dried leaves wrapped in brown cellotape suspected to be Indian hemp and was to be posted to the UK.
They made a report to the Narcotic Control Board and investigations led to the arrest of the Post Master of the Ejisu branch of Ghana Post, where the parcels were posted.
Mr Tawiah said during interrogation that Juliana was the person who brought the substance to be posted to the UK and on examination, he thought the substances were herbal medication for male potency.