2,400 kg Cocaine Sold In Ghana — Tabiri

Supt Edward Tabiri.pics by courtesy of mjol

The fear of Ghana becoming a consuming nation for narcotic drugs was reinforced yesterday when the former Head of the Rapid Response Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Supt Edward Tabiri, told the Justice Georgina Wood Committee that the run-away Venezuelan drug pusher, Vasquez Geraldo Duarte David, may have sold 2,400 kilogrammes of cocaine valued at $46 million in the country.

He said the proceeds from the transaction was believed to be in the possession of one Solo, a suspected accomplice of Vasquez, who is wanted by the police.

Supt Tabiri was responding to a question by the chairperson of the committee, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, during cross-examination on what made the police consider Ms Grace Asibi as an informant.

He said Ms Asibi took plain-clothes police personnel to the office of Compimchex Limited, a company owned by Vasquez and two others, where they found a secret letter of application for visa for Joel Meija Duarte Moises, a brother of Vasquez, after Joel had arrived in the country unnoticed.

Supt Tabiri said a search in the office led to the discovery of other documents covering the sales and proceeds of cocaine locally.

“You mean locally?” the chairperson of the committee who seemed startled, posed the question, when Supt Tabiri indicated the quantity of cocaine that was sold.
“Yes, locally, My Lord,” Tabiri responded.

Supt Tabiri said Ms Asibi also led the police to arrest Mrs Rosa Iris Dosoo, a secretary at Compimchex Limited, to assist the police get vital information from two laptops used by Vasquez.

He told the committee that the police also retrieved identity cards of Vasquez and other documents from the office.

Supt Tabiri said he decided to help Ms Asibi by providing her with security because she complained that Vasquez threatened her life for being an informant for the police.

Counsel for Ms Asibi, Mr James Abiaduka, denied that his client had ever been an informant for the police, but Supt Tabiri insisted otherwise, explaining that Ms Asibi had informed him (Tabiri) at the scene of crime after the East Legon cocaine haul that she had come for her share of the booty as discussed with the police earlier on telephone.

According to the chairperson, yesterday's cross-examination between Ms Asibi and Supt Tabiri marked the end of such encounter between the two witnesses before the committee.

The Deputy Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Patrick Ampewuah, also made a brief appearance before the committee.

His lawyer, Mr Ellis Owusu-Fordjour, told the committee that they had received a copy of the transcript on the audio recording that Ms Asibi tendered in evidence as a conversation between her and the deputy CID boss.

Counsel, however, maintained that the voice on the audio recording was not that of his client.

According to him, the Twi spoken on the audio recording, which was being attributed to his client, did not come from an Ashanti or Kwahu tongue akin to his client's.

Mr Owusu-Fordjour said ACP Ampewuah, being half Ashanti and half Kwahu, spoke different Twi from the kind spoken on the audio recording.