Customs officer jailed for dealing in narcotics

The Accra Circuit Court yesterday sentenced a 29-year-old customs officer, Jay Dodzi Ameteku, to one year imprisonment with hard labour for supplying narcotic drugs.

The police arrested Ameteku at his residence at Aflao in the Volta Region upon a tip off.

He was initially charged with the possession of narcotics, but the presiding judge, Mr Francis Obiri, after considering the facts of the case, convicted Ameteku for the supply of narcotics.

Ameteku, who changed his plea from ‘not guilty’ to ‘guilty’, produced an identity card to show that he was a customs officer, contrary to an earlier description of him as a farmer.

His lawyer, Mr George Asamaney, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.

The prosecutor, Inspector Isaac Agbemehia, told the court that on June 14, 2013, the narcotics unit of the police acted on a tip-off and proceeded to Ameteku’s residence at Aflao and arrested him.

He said a black handbag that was retrieved from Ameteku during the arrest was found to contain 45 packs of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis.

Two packets of rolling paper and a small green plastic bucket containing similar dried leaves were found at the porch of Ameteku’s residence during a further search.

The prosecutor said when Ameteku was interrogated on the spot, he claimed ownership of the exhibits but failed to lead the police to arrest his supplier.

During investigations and the trial, the exhibits were forwarded to the Police Forensic Laboratory for analytical examination and the report issued confirmed that the exhibits found on Ameteku were cannabis.

By Michael Donkor/Daily Graphic/Ghana