Man jailed 3 years for dealing in narcotics

A 38-year-old unemployed, Kwaku Mensah, has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labour by the Accra Circuit Court for supplying narcotic drugs.

Mensah was arrested at the Liberia Camp at Budumburam in the Central Region upon a tip-off.

He was initially charged with possession of narcotic drugs, but the court, presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, convicted him of the supply of narcotics after considering the facts of the case.

Mensah, who pleaded guilty to the charge, knelt down before the judge after his conviction and asked for clemency, but the judge ignored him and handed down the sentence.

The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Peter Sakyi, told the court that on August 6, 2013, the Narcotics Unit of the police had information that some people were dealing in narcotic drugs at Budumburam.

He said the police proceeded to the area and found Mensah in possession of 39 wrapped dried leaves and a quantity of similar leaves suspected to be cannabis in his house.

He said the police also retrieved from him 17 wrapped powdery substance suspected to be narcotics.

The prosecutor said when Mensah was interrogated on the spot, he claimed ownership of the exhibits.

The exhibits were later forwarded to the Police Forensic Laboratory for analytical examination and the report issued confirmed that the exhibits found on Mensah were narcotic drugs.

By Michael Donkor/Daily Graphic/Ghana