The Narcotics Drag Net

A traveler caused a stir at Heathrow International Airport in London a few years back.

Fellow traveler, a physically challenged person in a wheelchair, asked the traveler to help him carry his excess luggage to the security checkpoint for check-in.

“Sure I can help you but do you have gloves for me to put on before carrying your luggage” he asked the disabled.

No you don’t have gloves right? Sorry call the airport staff to help you carry your luggage into the plane since that is their job and they have their gloves on.

His refusal to assist the physically challenged sounded harsh to other equally travelers around at that time but he was right and why he was right I will tell you the story.

When you are traveling from Kotoka International Airport [K.I.A] or any international airport to any foreign country, please do not touch any luggage, handbag or hold any parcelled envelope belonging to another passenger whether known or unknown.

It sounds harsh but that is the best advice I can give to travelers, holidaymakers, tourists, international students, conference goers and many more to avoid “walking into a gate of no return”.

Please it does not matter, who that person is, where that person comes from, which position he holds, his relationship to you. That known or unknown person might be a crook in disguise that might be “setting you up so watch out.”

As an innocent person not aware of how crime has become so sophisticated, you may be walking with your two hands into waiting for police handcuffs, taken into a waiting security buggy to squat like a monkey, looked through a meshed window to enjoy outside scenery of your destination but will never step out in style.

It sounds funny. But it is not funny at all as the blue-black uniform police, customs up with their green and dark green uniform military and immigration counterparts get tough on drug suspects.

Seriously, many are those who weren’t smart enough and were caught in the narcotics drag net, charged with abetment of crime and are serving various jail sentences in foreign countries, praying hard for their saviours to come and take them out from jail.

Emulating Jesus Christ, you can have “mercy on any cripple” anywhere, anytime and anyhow but not to suspected drug peddlers who are getting more sophisticated in trading of the banned substance at the airports which could send you to jail if you don’t stay away from them.

“You are not taking any envelope to anywhere because I will not allow you to carry it with you to Canada” my wife warned me.

Looking at me with a kind of lighting, I realized she was serious and knowing she does not joke with matters bothering on security, I took her words serious.

For some minutes, I stopped packing my personal effects into my bag to figure out what was happening that made my wife warned me.

She had picked a call from a suspected caller earlier in the morning who claimed to be a brother of a church member in Toronto and wanted me to carry a parcel to him in Canada.

Unknown to me, my wife had taken note of this suspicious caller who in previous calls claimed was delivering a parcel on behalf of a relative who lives with me in Toronto-Canada.

“Honey sits down. Now listen to me. There is a suspicious narcotic drag net being spread to catch people who may fall. But I am your wife. I will guide you and protect you to escape their wicked trap. Don’t worry you are safe” she assured me.

Shaking like a leaf, I asked myself why I should be a target for those gangs, goons, barons and hulldrums.

Now here is the thing, she came up with a strategy. When we get to the airport, I will disguise myself and follow you every step where you go. You will behave like a deaf and dump chap so I will be your spokesman.

Remember, you are not touching any luggage or bag or folder or envelope or anything belonging to anybody except your stuff and I nodded like a baby to my wife’s instruction.

It was 4:45 p.m. when we arrived at KIA departure hall. Just about to weigh and check in my bags, this tall lanky, well kept man with a fat envelope in his hands appeared calling me by my full name which surprised me because I never knew this man anywhere.

A snub was not enough to send him away from me as he followed me to the counter to convince me to accept and carry that parcel to whoever claimed was my church member in Toronto-Canada.

Fed up with the promptings, pleadings, heckling my wife who followed me came in with a roaring voice and warned that suspected baron to back off since I was not going to take that parcel anywhere.

Without wasting much time I proceeded to the counter, checked in my luggage’s, behaved like a dummy only for my wife to expose and disgrace the goon who had tried to set me up.

As furious as to why a gentle, patriotic, law abiding, energetic young Christian who hate crime, should be targeted by goons for no apparent reason, I refused to be sympathetic to other travelers who might need help in carrying stuff in my journeys.

It was for me to escape the dangerous and tricky narcotic drag net which was spread to catch innocent persons to take their banned stuff across security barriers at the airports.

How did I know that it was a narcotic drag net which was spread to catch innocent persons like me?

Upon my return to Canada, I launched an undercover investigation into the whole episode which resulted in startling revelations which will shock you the reader.

My investigation revealed that, when I bought my air ticket to travel to Ghana, my passport number and that of my then resident permit number was entered into the immigration central computer system.

What happened was, because the cyber security system of both the airline in Ghana and that of the security services at the airport was not fully safe and secured, crooks, gangs, drug barons, thieves and armed robbers were able to steal private information about travelers hence their ability to contact innocent travelers and succeed in setting them up.

You might be wondering how armed robbers, thieves, gangs and all sorts of criminals are able to steal identities and equally important information about travelers, holiday makers, tourists and innocent business persons only to attack them later.

Is so nauseating, how these criminals are able to identify victims and call them by their full name which makes sense to victims to also respond to show respect.

Again, it is so surprising how these gangs, crooks and drug barons identify the home address of victims, find their hosts, concoct stories to win their sympathies in order to plant banned substance in their hands only to be apprehended later on.

A startling revelation from my seven years long, slow but sure investigation into this issue will shock readers how many innocent lives are being wasted in various jails because of abetment of crime they knew nothing about.

Many people are languishing in jail on suspicion of carrying parcels of banned substances meant to be delivered to people only to be apprehended and thrown behind the iron curtain.

Worst of all, many are those who out of innocence tried to help other passengers by carrying their excess luggage’s, hand bags or envelopes which unknown to the carriers contained narcotics only to be apprehended, charged , and sentenced to jail in foreign countries.

Maybe you still remember the story of a popular Ghanaian musician who was arrested in Heathrow Airport in London for allegedly carrying narcotics and was later on released because the bag that contained substance belonged to another traveler who vanished into thin air after the musician was arrested.

Investigations revealed that it was the fingerprints of the musician which was found on the hand luggage that contained the banned substance. Though he tasted life behind the iron curtain for a while, he was released.

Another story was about a Ghanaian woman who was arrested at J.F.K. Airport in New York for allegedly hiding the banned substance in the gills of a dried tilapia in order to smuggle the narcotics into the United States of America.

When she was arrested, she told the New York police, the parcel was given to her to deliver to a family friend in America from Ghana.

Granted it was true she didn’t know about the plot, you see how she was caught in the narcotics drag net and now serving her jail sentence in a foreign land only to be deported back to Ghana after serving her jail sentence.

Another drag net being spread wide to catch as numerous as would be victims and deport them back to their countries of origin is ongoing which is another topic to discuss in the next edition.

TO BE CONTINUED.