Limping Man jailed 22 years for importing cocaine with MV Benjamin

Michael Donkor Apr - 11 - 2014 , 06:59

Christian Sheriff Asem Darkey, the man at the centre of the shipment and disappearance of 77 parcels of cocaine, was yesterday sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison with hard labour by the Accra Fast Track High Court.

Darkey, alias the Limping Man, was found guilty on charges of conspiracy, importation and exportation of narcotic drugs, as well as corrupting public officers by handing over a polythene bag filled with an unspecified amount in dollars to them on April 26, 2006.

The charges were brought against Darkey following his arrest on February 2, 2011 after going into hiding in 2006.

He closed his defence on February 11, 2014.

The court, presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh, sentenced Darkey to 22 years in prison with hard labour on count one, 22 years in prison on count two and 22 years in prison on count three.

He was also sentenced to one year in prison with hard labour on count five and acquitted and discharged on count four, which was “undertaking prohibited business.” The sentences are to run concurrently.

Darkey is alleged to have played a major role in the shipment of 2,310 kilogrammes of cocaine, with a face value of $138.6 million, into the country in April 2006.

Judgement

Mr Justice Logoh said he took into consideration the period Darkey had spent in prison custody.

He said there was an upsurge in narcotic trade in the country, giving the country a bad name in the international community, hence the fight against drugs should be tackled from all sides.

He said in view of that, there was the need for the court to send a strong signal to those engaged in narcotic trade that they would not be spared if they were caught by the law.

Mr Justice Logoh said there was enough evidence that Darkey conspired with the other accomplices in the matter to import cocaine into the country.

He said apart from the fact that Darkey conspired to import the drug, he was also in constructive possession of the drugs.

He said enough evidence had been adduced to point to the fact that Darkey was at the Paradise Beach at Kpone in the morning of April 26, 2006 when the drug was being offloaded from the MV Benjamin into a waiting van.

Mr Justice Logoh said Darkey's denial of being at the beach that morning was not true.

He said Darkey failed to show to the court any licence from the Ministry of Health to possess a narcotic drug.

The judge also stated that there was no evidence as to where the cocaine was sent to.

On the charge of bribery of police officers, Mr Justice Logoh said evidence had been adduced to point to that fact.

The judge said the prosecution proved that Darkey succeeded in bribing the police officers.

Mr Justice Logoh said Darkey's defence of being sick and not being at the beach was a mere plea of alibi.

Before the judge read the sentence, Mr Isaac Aidoo, counsel for Darkey, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.

He said Darkey was the bread-winner of his family and also appealed to the judge to take into consideration the period he (Darkey) had spent in custody.

The State Prosecutor, Ms Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa, averted the judge's mind to the offences that Darkey was charged with and said they were serious ones.

She said other accomplices in the case had been convicted and that there was the need for Darkey to be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The prosecution closed its case on April 23, 2013.

Arrest

Darkey was arrested by officials of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on February 2, 2012 upon a tip-off, after he had been pursued for years by the security agencies.

He had gone to the hospital to seek medical treatment.

Facts of the case

It is the case of the prosecution that around midnight on April 26, 2006, a vessel, the MV Benjamin, reportedly carrying about 77 parcels of cocaine, with each parcel weighing 30 kilogrammes, docked at Kpone/Tema and discharged the parcels.

The parcels were offloaded into a waiting vehicle which carried away.

According to the prosecution, in the course of investigations, Darkey's name featured prominently as the importer and/or owner of the drug.

He was said to be the person who had chartered the vessel at a cost of US$150,000 to tow another vessel from Guinea to Ghana and, subsequently, carted the alleged 77 parcels.

Shipowner jailed

The disappearance of the cocaine led to the setting up of the Justice Georgina Wood Committee and the subsequent trial of persons alleged to have played various roles in the importation.

In July 2008, the Accra Fast Track High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, now a Supreme Court judge, convicted and sentenced Joseph Kojo Dawson, the owner of the MV Benjamin and Managing Director of Dashment Company Limited; Isaac Arhin, a sailor; Phillip Bruce Arhin, a mechanic; Cui Xian Li, the vessel engineer, and Luo Yui Xing, a sailor, all crew members of the MV Benjamin, to 25 years imprisonment each with hard labour.

Bruce Arhin, however, died about three weeks after his conviction.

A sixth accused person, Pak Bok Sil, a Korean, was, on October 16, 2007, acquitted and discharged by the court which had held, during a ruling on a submission of ‘no case’, that the prosecution had failed to prove a case against him.

Writers email: michael.donkor@graphic.com.gh