Zambian fined GH¢90,000 for trafficking ephedrine

A Zambian businesswoman, Matildah Nkole Kangombe, has been fined GH¢90,000 by the Accra High Court for trafficking ephedrine without authorisation.

Ms Kangombe, 47, was convicted on her own plea by the court presided over by Justice Cee Baiden.

She was fined 7,500 penalty units equivalent to GH₵90,000.

If she defaults the payment, she will spend 15 years in prison.

Operatives of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) arrested Ms Kangombe on Sunday, April 28, 2018, at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

She was going through departure formalities to board an Ethiopian Airline flight No. ET 819 to Ethiopia enroute Maputo-Mozambique.

A preliminary search carried out on her hand luggage revealed nothing incriminating and she was later escorted to the luggage section where she identified a brown bag as hers.

Follow up checks in her presence uncovered a whitish substance which was wrapped with four mini blankets and two towels. When a field test was conducted on the said substance, it proved positive for narcotic substance.

Further analytical test at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) proved the substance as Ephedrine, a pharmaceutical raw material that is used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, an illicit drug with a weight of 25kg.

Upon interrogation, she admitted ownership of the bag to officers of NACOB and said the bag was given to her by one Ahmed at an unknown hotel to be delivered to a Christian sister of hers in Maputo, Mozambique.