Man, 32 Gets Five-Year Jail Term Over Cannabis

A Kumasi Circuit Court has sentenced a 32-year-old man to five years imprisonment for illegally possessing cannabis.

Isaac Awinmba, pleaded guilty to the offence and was convicted on his own plea.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Okyere Darko, prosecuting, told the court presided over by Mr. John Ekow Mensah, that the complainant was a member of the police patrol team on the Kumasi-Asante Mampong road, while the convict was a native of Bawku and resident at Ankaase in the Afigya-Kwabre District of Ashanti.

The complainant on February 11 this year, at about 0900 hours, whiles on patrol duties in the company of the other team members at the Mamponteng section of the road, stopped a commercial bus with registration number AS-3500-U, which had on board the convict and other passengers.

After a search on the passengers, a black bag containing three parcels of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, was found on the convict.

ACP Darko told the court that the convict together with the cannabis was sent to the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Police Service for investigation.

The convict told the police during interrogations in the presence of an independent witness that, he was the owner.

According to ACP Darko, the convict told the police that he bought the substance from one “C Baba” at Kwadaso, but could not assist the police to trace the said Baba.

He said the illicit stuff was sent to the police forensic unit in Accra and after analysis it was proven to be cannabis weighing about 226.20 grams.

ACP Darko said a duplicate docket was sent to the Attorney General Department for advice after which the convict was charged with the offence.