ASHAIMAN POLICE INTERCEPT BUS WITH INDIAN HEMP .. (Page 28)

Story: Rose Hayford Darko & Anasthasia Dzovor, Tema

The police at Ashaiman Barrier on Sunday at 7am intercepted an Accra-bound Mercedes Benz bus travelling from Dzemeni in the Volta Region loaded with leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp packed in travelling bags.
The bus with registration number GR 1960 Q, which was carrying passengers, was stopped for routine check at the barrier. This led to the arrest of a 20-year-old bicycle repairer, Ali Mustapha, and Owusu Nelson, a 22-year-old farmer.
Reporting this to the press at Ashaiman on Tuesday, the District Commander of Police DSP Frank Awu said traffic was heavy as football fans were on their way to Accra to witness the Ghana-Guinea match.
He said the police for security reasons searched all vehicles which came through the barrier to ensure that nobody would create nuisance at this time when visitors had come to witness the tournament being hosted by Ghana.
DSP Frank Awu said when the Benz bus arrived at the barrier, the police during the search identified different sizes of travelling bags containing personal belongings but later identified different ones with 36 different sizes of parcels wrapped up with brown tapes.
Further search led to the discovery of the dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp carefully wrapped with the brown tapes and hidden among the clothing packed in the bags.
The Ashaiman Police Commander DSP Awu said during interrogation, the two passengers Mustapha and Nelson who claimed ownership, were arrested. They told the police that the ‘goods’ were being sent to Accra for sale on the open market.
DSP Awu issued a warning to people who would want to send out wrong signals about the country, to ‘think twice’ because the police were very vigilant to ‘crush’ them and to create a peaceful environment for the tournament.
DSP Awu gave the assurance that the routine checks were not meant to harass travellers but to ensure their security. He appealed to them to report any suspicious movements to the police for action.
DSP Awu took the opportunity to warn prostitutes in the municipality to comport themselves. He added that there would be a meeting between the prostitutes and the police to enable the former to avoid falling foul of the law.