Cop Interdicted Over Drugs

The Police Administration has ordered the immediate interdiction of Police Lance Corporal (L/Cpl) Bennette Peniana of the Subinso Police Station, near Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo Region, for attempting to intercede on behalf of a suspected Indian hemp (wee) dealer at Kintampo.

L/Cpl Peniana is alleged to have accompanied the suspect, Osei Kofi, the owner of a taxi with registration number AS 641 X which was intercepted by the Kintampo Police for carrying four bales of “wee” meant for illegal export, to the residence of the officer in charge of Kintampo, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Peter Kobina.

DSP Kobina, who briefed the press in Sunyani, said the police had identified the said taxi as one of those vehicles which had been used to convey “wee” from elsewhere to Kintampo to be smuggled to neighbouring countries.

In view of that, he and his men had been closely monitoring those vehicles and on May 29, 2007, the police saw the taxi conveying the bales of substances suspected to be “wee”.

DSP Kobina said the police gave the taxi a chase but the driver managed to escape and abandoned the car somewhere, adding that a search in the taxi revealed the suspected bales of “wee”.

He said late in the evening the owner of the taxi, accompanied by another man, went to his residence to plead for the release of the car and its contents.

The police officer said when he probed to know the identity of the man accompanying the owner of the taxi, he gave his name and rank and that exposed him as a policeman.

According to DSP Kobina, he effected the arrest of L/Cpl Peniana and the owner of the taxi and detained them, after which he informed the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kwaku Ayesu Opare-Addo.

After further consultations, the Inspector-Geneal of Police gave the directive that L/Cpl Peniana should be interdicted.