Christian Sherrif Asem Dake
A former personal driver of Sheriff Christian Asem Dake, the alleged importer of the 77 parcels of cocaine with the infamous MV Benjamin Vessel, yesterday testified against his boss at an Accra Fast Track High Court.
He testified against the suspected baron popularly known as Limping Man in the chambers of the trial judge, Justice Habib Logoh, according to the wishes of the prosecutor.
They believe the evidence of some of the witnesses in an open court might endanger their lives.
This brings to four the number of witnesses who have so far testified against the suspected drug baron.
The witness is believed to have been the driver of the accused person at the time he charted the vessel from its owner in Tema and sent it to Guinea, where he offloaded the cocaine from a waiting vessel on the high seas into the MV Benjamin.
The case has been adjourned to June 27, 2012 for another witness to be called.
The prosecuting state attorney is Yvonne Obuobisa while counsel for the accused person is George Heward-Mills.
A male convict currently serving time at Nsawam, at the last hearing testified against Asem Dake.
His evidence was also taken in chambers.
Even though both state and defence counsels were tight-lipped about who exactly the witness was, he is believed to be one of those convicted a few years ago in connection with the importation of the parcels of cocaine.
As early as eight o?clock in the morning, the witness was sneaked into the chambers of the judge to avoid the prying eyes of the press.
The witness came out a few minutes past nine o?clock and was quickly dispatched to his prison in a waiting vehicle.
The first witnesses, who were two fishermen believed to have been hired by the accused person to help him offload the parcels at Tema/Kpone, testified against him in chambers.
Sheriff is facing five charges for the alleged importation of 77 parcels of cocaine which have since landed eight persons in jail.
The accused person has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, importation of narcotic drugs without lawful authority, possession of narcotic drugs without license, dealing in prohibited business and corruption of public officer.
Mrs. Obuobisa, who presented the facts of the case, told the court that in early April 2006, the accused person hired the MV Benjamin Vessel from its owner in Tema and travelled to Guinea to cart the 77 parcels of cocaine, each weighing 30 kilograms.
She noted that on April 26, 2006, intelligence gathered indicated that a shipping vessel called MV Benjamin was on the high seas carrying about 77 parcels of cocaine and heading towards the West African Coast, specifically Ghana.
She said around midnight the same day, the vessel docked at Tema /Kpone and Asem Dake got some fishermen to help him discharge the cocaine.
In addition, she said some police officers who had been tipped-off about the drugs, went to the scene to arrest the accused person, but later left him off the hook after he gave them various amounts in dollars.
The accused person went ahead and offloaded the 77 parcels into a waiting vehicle and bolted with them.
According to her, investigations led to the arrest of a number of persons who were put before various courts, tried and convicted to various prison terms.
The prosecutor stated that during the course of the trials of the suspects, Asem Dake?s name featured prominently as the importer and owner of the 77 parcels of cocaine.
Furthermore, she said that investigations also revealed that Limping Man chattered the vessel at a cost of $150,000 and used it to convey another vessel carrying the narcotic drugs from Guinea. They were then offloaded into the MV Benjamin on the high seas.
She said on Thursday, February 2, 2012, Asem Dake was arrested at Korle-Bu Hospital upon a tip off, and was consequently arraigned.
By Fidelia Achama
