3 Ghanair attendants nabbed
for money laundering
Supreme Court strikes out
case against Attorney-General
Most wanted armed-robber
arrested
Kufuor’s minister to be
extradited to US?
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2003 – Acting Interior Minster Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor has blamed the former deputy commissioner of police (DCOP), Yaw Adu Gyimah, for going public on what could have been brought to the attention of the chairman of the Police Council for redress. Dr Addo Kufuor stated that Adu Gyimah, as a former police officer, knew where he could direct his grievance-instead of doing so on a radio station.
The former commander was interviewed on Tema-based Adom 106.3 FM when the story broke yesterday. During the programme, Castro, as he was affectionately known within the ranks, reiterated his earlier call for the committee’s report to be made public.
Noting that police officers that were allegedly implicated in the Accra Sport Stadium tragedy had been put before court for their cases to be heard, he questioned why a similar opportunity could be extended to him also.
“It is amazing to know that there is so much internal struggle for the position of an Inspector General of Police (IGP) that people resort to all sorts of crude methods just to undermine others they believe are qualified for the post,” Adu Gyimah argued. He likened it to the struggle over a royal stool. He said that at the time of the investigation he was qualified.
When we reached him over the next line of action, Adu Gyimah said the believe that the present government, under President Kufuor, was operating with the rule of law and that was why he was reminding the administration of the right thing to do.
Speaking from his Kumasi base, Castro who said that he had served the police for 26 years as district and unit head said that he exhausted all available means within the police service. According to him, the committee was given one month to complete its job, but surprisingly spent eight months investigating the allegation.
He alleged that efforts he made at the time former IGP Owusu Poku was in office to know his fate ended in frustrations and a similar thing occurred when Nana Owusu Nsiah was appointed. Our independent investigations, according to police sources at the Panthers Unit, the Greater Accra commander Kofi Boakye, was nearly transferred outside Accra because he was becoming too popular among the ranks and for that matter it is not surprising that he is still facing the same problems. – The Ghanaian Chronicle
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3 Ghanair attendants
nabbed for money laundering
New York (United States of America) – Everything was set for the take-off of an Accra-bound Ghana Airways flight last Friday, when a group of New York customs officials stormed the plane on the tarmac and politely requested to be allowed to search the cabin crew, “Chronicle” has learnt.
At the end of their brief search, three members of the crew were busted and are now cooling off in cells of a New York police station for allegedly engaging in what is believed to be money laundering. The three caught in the process were, Prudent Dickson, Aboagye Wiafe, a former broadcaster, and a lady whose name was not available to Chronicle as at the time of filing the story.
They were expected to be arraigned before a New York City court on Wednesday, this week, for possessing an undeclared amount of $45,000. Under United States laws, an individual is not allowed to carry more than $10,000 cash out of the country, but surprisingly the three Ghanair crew members were found to have hidden the $40,000 cash in a crew bag.
According to “Chronicle” source, last when the Ghana Airways flight was about to depart from New York, the city’s custom officials had a tip-off and stormed the cabin to conduct an inspection and in the process discovered the amount in a crew member’s bag.
“Chronicle” intelligence sources also revealed that over the years drug dealers, who are unable to send large sums of money with them, usually seek the assistance of some flight attendants to transport their money back to Ghana for a fee of 10 per cent.
About a year ago another Ghanair flight attendant, a lady, was busted in Dusseldorf, Germany, in a drug-related incident when drugs dealers engaged her to carry their stuff. She was later sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sources at Ghana Airways told “Chronicle” yesterday that most of the incidents involving crewmembers could be blamed on the politicisation of their employment.
The sources explained that in the past, big men in the system imposed people on the management for employment and, as a result, all sorts of characters found themselves among the cabin crew. Under normal circumstances, the sources said, there was the need for due diligence and double checking of the personnel to be employed as cabin crew, but because of interference this sound practice has been thrown to the dogs. When contacted, a source close to the top management of the airline confirmed the story. – The Ghanaian Chronicle
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Supreme Court strikes out
case against Attorney-General
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2003 - The Supreme Court has by a 4-1 majority decision, struck out a case brought before it that sought to challenge the constitutionality of the charge "causing financial loss to the State".
The court decided to granted leave for Frank Bo Amissah of Accra to withdraw a writ he brought before it. The five-member panel presided over by Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, awarded a cost of ¢15m against the Amissah.
Amissah had filed the writ, challenging the constitutionality of the charge; "causing financial loss to state" in the Quality Grain Trial involving two former Ministers of State and three former government officials at an Accra Fast Track High Court.
The judges on the majority said it took into consideration, that if the matter before the Supreme Court was not determined, it could halt other pending cases in the High Courts, which have similar charges preferred against accused persons.
It also noted that the writ was a determining factor in the Quality Grains trial at the Fast Track Court and that the Supreme Court's decision would determine if the trial should be continued of otherwise.
The Majority noted that the plaintiff had once accused the Registrar of the Supreme Court for delaying to hear the writ filed sometime last year. They noted that the Plaintiff needed to be offered the opportunity to argue his case and, therefore, the writ should not be struck off.
Those who ruled in favour of the Plaintiff to discontinue the case were: Mrs Justice Addo; Justice S.A. Brobbey; Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood and Justice S.G. Baddoo while Dr Justice Seth Twum, dissented.
In a brief submission, Nana Adjei Ampofo, Counsel for the plaintiff said his client sought to do a noble duty by questioning the basis of the constitutionality of the charges preferred against the accused persons. However, he received instructions from his client to discontinue the case, for personal reasons, he said. He said if the Plaintiff had explained the reasons for discontinuing the case, he might have elicited the sympathy of the court. He prayed the court not to exercise its discretional powers arbitrary when awarding cost against them and, therefore, suggested ¢1m cost.
Earlier in a motion, the plaintiff stated that the legality of the Quality Grains charges was unconstitutional and should, therefore, not be entertained by the FTC trying the five former public officials during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Administration. – Myjoyonline
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Most wanted armed-robber
arrested
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2003 – The Greater Accra Regional Police Command has arrested Ghana’s most wanted armed robber. He goes by the nickname ''Hope'' but there was little hope of him ever being caught alive. He was finally arrested in the late hours of Wednesday on a tip-off.
Heavily armed squad of 15 law enforcement officers led by ACP Kofi Boakye swooped on Hope in the company of another notorious suspected hardened criminal, Ziggy. The robbers did not resist their arrest. It was between the hours of 9 and 10 in the night; the gang were allegedly meeting on a refuse site at Sahara, Adabraka.
The suspected gangsters were meeting there to pick up their weapons from their ''procurement officer'' and move from there to probably hijack a taxi and go on the usual rampage.
''Ziggy managed to evade the dragnet, but determined police offices persevered tracking him down and effected his arrest'' the Statesman said. The informant who alerted the police leading to Hope’s arrest is richer by ¢10m.
Hope has already confessed to about five shootings and also taking part in a recent robbery at Tantra Hill in Accra when the owner of the BMW saloon car was deprived of his vehicle. He said he did that ''Chop Better'' who is already in police custody.
Ziggy is also said to have confessed to ten robberies, involving travellers through the Kotoka International Airport. - Statesman
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Kufuor’s minister to be
extradited to US?
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 March 2003 – President Kufuor is in a dilemma. He has to choose between Ghana's relations with the United States of America and giving up his Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs. Grace Coleman, who is wanted by US Immigration Service after been indicted by a Maryland Court for sending a Ghanaian woman to the US illegally. US Embassy sources in Accra told the Ghana Palaver that the State Department has written to the Ministry of Foreign Affair, requesting that Mrs. Grace Coleman is handed over to the US authorities to face charges in that country.
Mrs. Coleman's daughter, Barbara Coleman-Blackwell and her husband, Kenneth Blackwell, have been indicted for allegedly bringing a Ghanaian woman into the United States illegally and using her as an unpaid domestic servant for about 17 months. The three are charged with fraudulently bringing Margaret Owusuwaah into the United States and using her as an unpaid domestic servant in the home of Mrs. Coleman's daughter.
They have been charged with conspiring to induce an illegal immigrant to come to the United States, harbouring an illegal immigrant for financial gain and with recruiting an immigrant to come to and remain in the United States illegally. Mrs. Coleman and her daughter have been charged with force labour, confiscating Owusuwaah's passport and visa in connection with force labour, making a false statement to US officials and visa fraud. The indictment on Mrs Coleman means that the Asokore Constituency Member of Parliament will be arrested at any entry point if she enters the US even she holds a diplomatic passport.
When Mrs. Coleman was contacted on phone,
she denied the story saying "I have not been informed of the United States
request". Asked to comment on the case, Mrs. Coleman said "this is
not a matter to be discussed on phone; you could have come to my office for us
to talk". – Ghana Palaver
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