Cocaine Floats On Sea
Another parcel of cocaine was found floating on the sea yesterday, bringing the number of suspected cocaine parcels intercepted to six.
The parcel is suspected to be part of those already impounded aboard MV St. Ephraim on Tuesday by the security agencies.
The cocaine found on board the Panamanian registered vessel from Brazil has been nick-named 'Sucaine' because it was concealed in the Ghana-bound cargo of sugar.
Navy Captain Assassie Gyimah (rtd), Chairman of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), confirmed to DAILY GUIDE yesterday that a parcel containing what is believed to be cocaine was retrieved from the sea.
This is the second time a major seizure of cocaine had taken place since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) took over power in January 2009.
Speaking in a telephone interview, he said the vessel came from Santos in Brazil and mentioned that its local agent is Agency Global Cargo and Commodities based in Tema.
Captain Assassie-Gyimah however denied earlier media reports suggesting that the vessel docked at the port about 10 days ago.
He explained that information about the vessel was given to them and they started monitoring it in the past 10 days until it was nabbed on Tuesday when it docked.
Briefing DAILY GUIDE about the arrest of the Panamanian vessel, the NACOB boss noted that they received information about it, and continued to monitor it until it arrived at the port where it berthed on Tuesday afternoon.
Security at the port later discovered that part of the consignment of sugar turned out to be cocaine, weighing 164 kilograms.
He noted that because the cargo was mostly sugar, it took the expertise of officials of the security agencies and NACOB to detect the substance since the Panamanian vessel was carrying 14,000 tonnes of sugar from Brazil.
He confirmed that one person, believed to be among the 23 Filipino crew members, was found dead and added that the deceased was yet to be identified.
The NACOB boss indicated that a joint operation by the National Security, the Narcotics Control Board, the police and the port security led to the discovery of five bags of cocaine.
He revealed that the area around Berth Three where the vessel docked was cordoned off and declared a security zone, which later helped in the discovery of the floating parcels.
However, a deep-throat source at the Tema port hinted that the deceased might have been murdered over a dispute and not hanged himself as it was made to look.
The source also said that the Eastern Naval Command was not happy about not being credited with the arrest because they played a lead role in the arrest and were surprised the other security agencies were taking credit for the seizure of the cocaine.
Additional information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicates that the cocaine was the result of a tip-off to the Ghanaian security authorities from St. Ephraim in Greece, owners of the vessel, which voyaged from Brazil to Tema.
With its mainly sugar cargo from the South American country, the Captain's attention was drawn to the contents of a welded wire mesh which turned out to be a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.
The Captain, for whatever reason, decided to inform the ship's owners in Greece who in turn contacted the Ghanaian security agencies through their local agents about the contraband contents aboard the vessel.
Even before the ship docked therefore, word had reached the security agents about its dangerous cargo.
When the ship, a Panamanian flag-flying vessel, finally docked, NACOB personnel, the Police and the Port security operatives discovered bags of whitish substance which initial tests on it revealed to be cocaine.
The 23 crew-members aboard the ship carrying 14,000 tonnes of sugar were being kept under guard since the arrest at Berth Three.
Information reaching DAILY GUIDE before going to press suggested that of the five bags impounded on Tuesday evening, each weighed between 31 and 32 kilos.
It will be recalled that on May 19th 2009, a quantity of cocaine was discovered concealed in a consignment of chewing gum and toffees imported into the country from Ecuador.