TAXI DRIVER NABBED WITH 11 BAGS OF INDIAN HEMP

08/02/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Highway Patrol team on the Accra-Ho road has intercepted an Opel taxi cab loaded with 11 large bags of Indian hemp on the Juapong-Asikuma stretch of the road.
The driver of the taxi, Emmanuel Quarshie, 23, was arrested but his two accomplices escaped.
According to the Commander of the Highway Patrol Unit, Superintendent Ernest Owusu-Donkor, at 3.30 a.m. on February 3, 2008, the team saw the taxi parked at a point between Juapong and Asikuma.
He said three persons, one of them holding a torch, were standing by the car so the police pulled up and inquired what they were doing there at that time.
The commander said Quarshie told the police that one of the tyres of the vehicle had developed a puncture and that the other two men were assisting him to replace it.
Not satisfied with the explanation, the policemen alighted from their vehicle, at which point the two men immediately fled into the bush.
Supt Owusu-Donkor said Quarshie also attempted to run but he was arrested and when the taxi was searched, 11 large packages of substances suspected to be Indian hemp were found in the booth.
He said Quarshie was sent to the headquarters of the unit for further investigations and during interrogation he mentioned one of his accomplices as Gabriel, whom he claimed owned the Indian hemp.
According to the suspect, he plied between Accra and Madina, saying he had met Gabriel about four months ago while on his normal rounds and they became friends.
He said at 2.00 a.m. on Saturday, Gabriel had called him and asked him to go to Finte, located between Juapong and Asikuma, to convey some goods to Accra for him.
He said although he did not know the kind of goods, he charged Gabriel GH¢40 and he agreed so he set off from Madina at midnight. On reaching the spot, he found the two by the roadside waiting for him.
Quarshie claimed the two took him to a spot and loaded the drugs into his vehicle, adding that it was when they were about to set off for Accra that they were intercepted by the police, with the two managing to escape.
Although he claimed Gabriel was his friend, he could not tell the police his full name or where he lives.
Investigations continue.