Nine policemen of the Accra Regional Police Command have been interdicted for their alleged involvement in narcotic drugs. One of them, Constable Ekow Russel of the Monitoring Unit of the Accra Region, has however been arrested and is assisting the police in their investigations. According to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr. David Asante Apeatu, a drug suspect, Maxwell Antwi who was arrested because he was carrying a quantity of substances suspected to be cocaine, mentioned Constable Ekow Russel as his source of supply. He was therefore, quickly arrested for interrogation. Antwi, who was arrested around Nyamekye, near Kata Hotel, on March 7, further told the police upon interrogation that he had already sold part of the drugs and given the money to Constable Russel. The eight others are Detective Inspector Nana Oppong of the Regional CID, Inspector Oppong Kyei, Station Officer of the Monitors Unit of the Accra Region, and Sergeant Francis Arthur. The rest, all non-commissioned officers and men from the Monitors Unit, are Lance Corporal Tony Adjei, Lance Corporal Isaac Annan, Lance Corporal George Akoi, Lance Corporal Dominic Ameza and Constable Collins. Mr David Apeatu said the interdiction of the eight policemen was in connection with various roles they played in an unlawful operation at Tema on January 15 and 16, this year, which involved the seizure of drugs, which were not properly accounted for. He said the operation led to the arrest of two Nigerians, Sebastian Uba and Matthew Nkumado, believed to be dealing in narcotic drugs but one was released while the other miraculously escaped from police custody at the Regional Police Headquarters. The Director-General said a parcel of cocaine seized from the two suspects, which was presented to the Police Forensic Laboratory for testing, proved negative. Mr Asante-Apeatu stated that the Police Administration had launched full-scale investigations into the case and any police officer found to have been culpable would be dealt with drastically. He said the activities of the junior officers were tarnishing the image of the service and stressed that no junior officer had the powers to arrest and investigate narcotic cases without reference to their superiors. He urged them not to abuse the discretionary powers of arrest to undertake operations unknown to their superiors and thereby tarnish the image of the service. The Director-General advised junior officers with information about narcotic dealings to contact their superior officers for instructions. A source at the headquarters said the interdicted policemen declared only one of the number of parcels of drugs they seized from the Nigerians and that one even turned out to be fake. Culled from Daily Graphic