body-container-line-1
21.05.2008 General News

Missing Cocaine Catches Police

By Daily Guide
Missing Cocaine Catches Police
21.05.2008 LISTEN

Barely a week after the police administration had virtually indicted DSP Patrick Akagbo for the loss of cocaine from the CID headquarters, a ministerial committee has revealed that Chief Superintendent Adu-Amankwa, commander of the Organized Crime Unit (OCU), has several questions to answer pertaining to the theft.

The Kojo Armah Committee Report, which was submitted to the Interior Ministry some three weeks ago, said there was more to it than meets the eye.

Not only did the committee detect that the commander hid certain truths from it, but stated that there were several lapses in the way the head of the Ningo-Prampram cocaine investigations had handled the case, describing some of his actions as unprofessional and careless.

The committee said his investigations were not in-depth enough and therefore recommended that his conduct be seriously investigated.

It also revealed that though the police had told the media that only Akagbo had been entering the exhibit room, several people, including civilians, whites and some women, had randomly entered the place where the drugs were being kept.

The report stated for instance that a number of artisans who were doing some structural works on the exhibit room had access to the place.

The artisans aside, some service personnel were also found to have paraded the headquarters at odd hours.

“A number of Service Personnel were found to have visited the CID headquarters at odd times without reasonable explanation. Some went there with friends, including white persons and women”.

According to the report, Adu-Amankwa was not forthright in his responses to questions posed to him by members. It said the police boss, for reasons best known to himself, gave inadequate information to the committee.

For instance, when he was asked to present his informants in the case, he deliberately left out some of those who could have made things easier for the committee.

“He was particularly not diligent in the investigations, and did not properly supervise the investigations.

His management of the 'informants' was unprofessional…The panel wonders why in introducing his informants to DG/CID and the panel, he deliberately left out Nana Dokua, who indeed should have been the key informant.”

It noted that some itemized bills it trampled upon strongly suggested that the relationship between Adu Amankwa and Nana Dokua was far deeper than the committee was made to believe.

The report further revealed that it was the same Dokua that was used as a channel to 'recruit' Isaac Tenkorang and one Osman to implicate Daniel Kwame Frimpong before the committee because he was a friend to DSP Akagbo.

The two were indeed paid a total of GH¢5,000, even though they were initially promised GH¢50,000 for the job.

The Organized Crime Unit (OCU) boss also told the panel that since May 2006 when the drugs were sent to the exhibit store, he had had nothing to do with the room, except when there was the recent need for the contents to be re-examined.

“In all the two years of custody therefore, Mr. Adu-Amankwa said he never bothered about the room or the contents held therein because somebody else was holding the keys. He did not even know that any structural works were being done in the exhibits room or who were the artisans doing it”.

The committee was also worried that there was a breakdown in communication between him and the former Director-General of the CID and suggested that vital information, which could have formed the basis for strategic planning and action, was not forthcoming.

“Based upon all these the panel finds that further investigations into the conduct of C/Supt. Adu Amankwa is necessary and recommends that an action be taken to investigate him,” the report concluded.

All the armed guards at the gate to the 6th floor exhibit store, whose negligence allegedly aided the theft, were also recommended for disciplinary action.

Adu-Amankwa was tasked to take over investigations from the Tema Regional Command into the 67 cartons of cocaine seized at Prampram on 21st May, 2006, until part of it was found to have been stolen and swapped.

As head of the OCU, he was responsible for coordinating all activities in respect of organized crime involving narcotics, crimes involving huge financial fraud by persons acting in concert and employing well laid out strategy, including money laundering.

But in all his activities, he was immediately responsible to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department.

Even though the committee had established that almost all letters in respect of investigations into the Prampram Cocaine were signed in the name of the then CID Director, David Asante Apeatu, Mr. Adu Amankwa denied allegations that there was some conflict between him and his former boss.

He also denied allegations that he directly dealt with the IGP, Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, instead of Asante Apeatu.
He however agreed that he did not always attend CID management meetings.

Adu Amankwa was quizzed by the Kojo Armah Committee seven times.

To be continued.

body-container-line