Estate developer Chima Uchechukwu remanded for alleged possession of assorted drugs  

An Accra High Court has remanded Chima Uchechukwu, an estate developer, for allegedly possessing assorted quantities of drugs at Oyarifa in Accra without legal authorisation.

Uchechukwu was arrested by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) on March 18, 2025, for possessing 192 slabs of cocaine with a purity of 48.79 to 70.42 percent and 57 pellets of cocaine with 49.63 percent purity.

NACOC also confiscated a polybag containing heroin and morphine with purities of 18.65 and 17.57 percent, respectively, for trafficking.

He faces three charges: possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and use of property for narcotic offences.

In the presence of his counsel, Mr. Paul Asibi Abariga, Uchechukwu denied the charges.

The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Mr. Adama Watkins, requested the substitution of the old charge sheet with a new one.

Defence counsel argued that some allegations in the fact sheets were untrue, stating the accused had no prior caution and that the money found during his arrest belonged to his wife.

He plans to file a bail application at the next hearing.

The prosecution stated that NACOC began investigating a narcotic trafficking enterprise in 2023, linking Uchechukwu to drugs retrieved from two convicts, Pascal Okafor Ezugwu and Kenneth Uchenna, arrested in 2024.

Uchechukwu was identified in 2025 and placed under surveillance.

On March 18, 2025, Uchechukwu was arrested at his residence, where no drugs were found, but large sums of money in various currencies were retrieved, suspected to be proceeds from drug trafficking.

A search of another property linked to him revealed 192 slabs of cocaine, 57 pellets, and a polybag of compressed substances, which tested positive for cocaine and heroin.

The Ghana Standards Authority confirmed the purity levels of the drugs in a report dated April 4, 2025.

The prosecution alleged Uchechukwu was part of a larger criminal enterprise involved in drug trafficking and had amassed properties and luxury vehicles under investigation.

Efforts are ongoing to identify his accomplices.

The case, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, has been adjourned to May 2, 2025.

GNA