Ruby Appears In Court Today

The cocaine bust saga enters a critical stage today as Nayele Ametefeh aka Ruby Adu-Gyamfi, the lady at the centre of an alleged smuggling of 12.5 kilograms of cocaine from Accra to the United Kingdom, appears in a London court.

She would appear before a judge at the Isleworth Crown Court around 2:00 pm to learn of her fate according to British law.

The court is said to be fitted with state-of-the-art gadgets to facilitate proceedings. The attention of most Ghanaians would be riveted on the proceedings and the eventual outcome.

The case of R v Nayeli AMETEFEH T20141080 is listed for a Preliminary Hearing at Isleworth Crown Court before His Honour Judge Edmunds QC, in Court number 5 at 2pm.

Miss Ametefeh, who is on remand in custody at Her Majesty's Prison Bronzefield, will not be produced in person but via video link from the prison.

For this quantity of drugs on a contested trial the defendant is looking at a sentence in the region of 15 years imprisonment. A guilty plea at the earliest opportunity will entitle her to a discount of one third—something in the region of 10 years.

As the name suggests, a preliminary hearing is the first appearance of an indictable only offence in the Crown Court.

If the defendant intends to plead guilty she will be able to do so tomorrow.

Her lawyers may, on the other hand, want to know the strength of the case against her and may ask that the case be adjourned for a Pleas and Case Management Hearing following services of the case papers by the Crown (R).

There is a raging argument between state players and opposition elements over whether she enjoyed state courtesies reserved for executives at the Kotoka International Airport or not.

While the government denied that the state facilitated her trip, the opposition stands its ground that it did, explaining for instance that there was no way she could have used the VVIP lounge and a State Protocol Department registered vehicle without state intervention.

The Isleworth Crown Court, which would host many Ghanaians today, is located on Ridge Road, Middlesex.

She appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, November 11, and was remanded in custody until her next appearance at Isleworth Crown Court today, November 27, 2014.

By A.R. Gomda