
Audio By Carbonatix
The Christian Asem Darkey cocaine trial has been adjourned to Friday to enable the prosecution to call its last witness, who is to testify in camera.So far, three witnesses have given their testimonies in camera, away from journalists, family members of the accused person and the public.The names of the witnesses, two fishermen from Kpone and a prisoner from the Nsawam Prison were not disclosed.The prisoner was said to have testified in camera Monday, after which he was cross-examined by counsel for the accused person.Apart from matrimonial causes and juvenile trials, all other matters are supposed to be heard in open court, except for security or other reasons when the court so deems.Just before the case was called, all persons, apart from the witness, lawyers for both sides and the presiding judge, Justice Mustapha Habib Logoh, were asked to leave the court.Although journalists tried to ascertain what had transpired in camera, the facts were not made available to them.The case started at the High Court following the decision of the Accra Circuit Court to discharge Darkey because of a nolle prosequi filed by the Attorney-General’s Department.He was, however, re-arrested and taken into custody at the BNI.The accused person, who went into hiding from 2006 until February 2, 2012, was arrested by BNI officials at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital upon a tip off.Darkey was indicted for allegedly paying $3,000 to a detective sergeant to facilitate his escape.His charges have been increased to five from an initial three. He is now facing counts of conspiracy, possession, importation and exportation of narcotic drugs and corruption of a public officer, to all of which he has pleaded not guilty.According to the facts of the case, about 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 cocaine.The 77 parcels were offloaded into a waiting vehicle which carried them 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 $150,000 to tow another vessel from Guinea to Ghana.Darkey, the prosecution noted, was the person who had carted the 77 parcels on the ship’s arrival at Kpone.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 whole saga.Although the committee recommended that Darkey be prosecuted, he proved elusive until his arrest in February 2012.
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