The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, who is also a lawyer, has described the continued detention of Salomey Awiti Baffoe as a “facade” intended to divert public attention from the ongoing cocaine scandal.

The High Court on Thursday, September 24, denied a bail application filed on behalf of Ms Baffoe after the prosecution argued that she was still needed to assist with ongoing investigations.

The court said the investigation is cyber-related and that releasing the accused at this stage presented a real risk of interference with witnesses. It subsequently directed the Republic to expedite its investigations.

But reacting to the decision in an interview with JoyNews, Mr Shaib questioned the basis for keeping Ms Baffoe in custody, particularly because she is facing a misdemeanour charge and has three young children.

“Obviously not,” he said when asked whether he was satisfied with the judge’s decision.

“Against the background that you are dealing with a misdemeanor offence, and you are dealing with a woman who has three children, who children are very young, and there is every reason that she's not going to interfere with the investigations.

“I actually just think that this is just a facade, a way to divert attention from us speaking largely about the cocaine economy. That is all,” he said.

He questioned why public attention was focused on Ms Baffoe when authorities were dealing with several major cocaine seizures, including the reported 3.9-tonnes consignment in France .

“If 3.9 tonnes of cocaine are being arrested… the whole thing has just become a cocaine economy. That is all. This woman is just being used as a scapegoat, a way to divert attention from the main issue, cocaine,” he stated.

Mr Shaib also challenged the court’s reasoning that Ms Baffoe could interfere with the cyber-related investigation by deleting evidence.

“We don't have a cybercrime unit, and that she would now suo motu move and go and delete? What are we talking about?” he questioned.

He argued that investigators already had access to Ms Baffoe’s electronic devices and therefore questioned how her release would enable her to interfere with evidence.

“Meanwhile, you have the gadgets. No, that is an insult. You have everything of hers. So how is the person going to deal with that?” he asked.

He further called for greater attention to be paid to the circumstances surrounding the movement of the large cocaine consignment.

“3.9 tonnes. That is huge. How did it move from the Tema port straight to wherever it went to? Which is more critical. And that is what we need to be. If there are issues of cocaine, deal with the issues of cocaine,” he added.