3.9 tonnes cocaine case: Kpebu criticises NACOC for arresting and detaining suspects despite no linkage

Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has criticised the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) for allegedly arresting and detaining four suspects including his client, Kweku Otchere without establishing a link between them and the 3.9 tonnes of cocaine reportedly exported to France.

Kpebu said the arrests raised serious concerns about due process and the handling of criminal investigations, particularly as some of the suspects had been in custody since September 12 while NACOC have failed to prove their linkage to the alleged crime.

He alleged that NACOC had repeatedly asked the court for more time to investigate the suspects without presenting evidence linking them to the cocaine consignment.

“I am totally shocked and very livid and sad for our criminal justice system,” Mr Kpebu said.

"NACOC went and arrested my client, Kweku Otchere. NACOC just rounded them up but did not link them to the alleged 3.9 tonnes of cocaine that were found in Australia but has kept them in custody but of course they bring them in court and keep telling court that they need time to investigate, most of them from September 12, that is a little over six weeks now," he told TV3's court reporter, Laud Adu-Asare.

He made the statement after NACOC has subsequently charged five other persons after making new arrests in connection with the France cocaine bust.

He said a charge sheet presented in court now identified the alleged cocaine consignment as belonging to another suspect.

Mr Kpebu argued that the subsequent arrests reinforced his concern that the earlier suspects had been detained without a demonstrated connection to the alleged shipment.

“What they put before the court, they cannot link any of the suspects to the cocaine, and that has been reinforced by the subsequent arrest,” he said.

The lawyer expressed concern that NACOC's action is not grounded in law and suggests that they only make arrest to "appease Ghanaians."

He stressed that NACOC's action must be a wake-up call for citizens to be concerned about the criminal justice system.

"But as we speak now, in our case there is no linkage and that is what every Ghanaian should be sad and very scared about," he noted.

He called for NACOC’s leadership and officials involved in the arrests to be held accountable, describing the alleged conduct as a serious departure from constitutional principles.

"You don’t come and say 3.9 tonnes of cocaine exported and just round up some citizens who have no linkage. The Head of NACOC and all those who are involved must be held to account for such aberration," Kpebu stated.