Alleged galamsey kingpin, Aisha Huang, re-entered Ghana because she had missed her husband, a Police Investigator told an Accra High Court on Monday.

Mounting the witness box, Inspector Simon Nyaho, a Police Investigator said Aisha, aka Ruixia Huang, re-entered Ghana through the Aflao Port to visit her husband known as Prince Amoah.

“I together with my team interrogated the accused person and she stated that she re-entered Ghana through the Aflao Port.

“When we asked her why she came to Ghana, she stated that she had missed her husband, whose name she gave as one Prince Amoah, and that she had come to visit him.”

According to the 10th prosecution witness, Aisha had two passports on her arrest, which were handed over to the Ghana Immigration Services for further investigations.

Inspector Nyaho said that on September 6, 2022, he and his team were tasked to investigate how Aisha re-entered Ghana.

Based on that, the Police investigator said he secured a court order to search Aisha’s residence.

“During the search, we found 19 bottles of liquid substance suspected to be mercury, 200 cartridges of AA ammunition, some spare parts of excavators, and consumables, among others.

“We also retrieved a Yellow Fever Vaccination Card bearing the name Ruixia Huang, a Non-citizen Ghana Card application form, COVID-19 Vaccination Card together with three receipts.

“We also took custody of two metal safes earlier retrieved from the residence of the accused person by Officers of the Defence Intelligence,” he said.

The witness tendered for evidence all the documents retrieved from Aisha’s residence.

Inspector Nyaho gave further details on Aisha’s two passports.

According to the witness, one of the passports was issued in Ningzi, China on January 14, 2010, and it was to expire on January 13, 2020. It bore the name En Huang, with July 7, 1986, as the date of birth of the accused person.

He said that the second passport was issued in Fujian, China on January 14, 2019, with the number EE999460, and is to expire on January 19, 2029. The document had the name Ruixia Huang with November 7, 1975, as the date of birth.

“The place of birth indicated in this passport is Fujian. This passport also has a picture of the accused person,” he added.

The investigator said after interrogation, the team took Aisha’s caution statement on September 28, 2022, and the same was tendered in evidence.

Answering questions under cross-examination by Mr Miracle Attachy, counsel for Aisha, Inspector Nyaho admitted procuring an order of the court to search Aisha’s residence.

When asked if he could make available Aisha’s two passports in court, the witness indicated that the passports were handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for further investigations.

The matter has been adjourned to April 19, 2023.

The case of the state is that the complainants are security and intelligence officers.

The prosecution said Aisha had gained “notoriety” for engaging in a series of small-scale mining activities known as galamsey across the country.

It said in 2017, Aisha was arrested for a similar offence, but managed to sneak out of the country to avoid prosecution.

She has denied the charges of engaging in illegal mining and re-entering Ghana after she had been deported in 2018.