An Accra High Court presided by Ladyship Justice Mary Ekua Yanzuah has sentenced a Liberian national to ten (10) years imprisonment for attempting to smuggle cocaine, a narcotic drug through the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Bangkok, Thailand.
The facts of the case are that, the convict Ms. Wolo Maikplay Margaret was apprehended by Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) officers on the 14th of May, 2022, while transiting through Kotoka International Airport (KIA) from Monrovia to Bangkok-Thailand onboard Qatar Airways.
A total of thirty (30) pellets containing cocaine weighing 277.2101grams were retrieved from beneath her breast and Vagina when officials of the commission conducted a physical search on her after receiving a tip off from a sister security agency at Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
She was arraigned before the Accra High Court on August 31,2022.
The convict pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted exportation and possession of a narcotic drug without a licence, in violation of sections 36 and 37 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019), respectively.
She was therefore convicted on her own plea to jail term of 10 years and slapped with additional fine of 10,000 penalty units which is equivalent to Ghc12,000 in default serves 3 months imprisonment all to run concurrently.
A statement issued by the commission signed by Francis Opoku Amoah
Acting Director Public Affairs and International Relations Department on September 6,2022 emphasized that possession and attempted transportation of narcotic drugs is still illegal and punishable under domestic law.
The statement assured citizens the commission’s commitment to keeping the influx and smuggling of all types of narcotic drugs to a barrest minimum through collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.