The Attorney-General has withdrawn the charges it brought against some six persons it alleged abetted the crime of exporting cocaine from Ghana.

The Circuit Court in Accra which was hearing the case consequently acquitted businessman Alhaji Dawood, Nana Akua Amponsah, Sadalia Nuhu, Foreign Ministry officer, Abiel Ashitey Armah, Theophilus Kissi, also a foreign service officer, and Ahmed Abubakr, a protocol officer at the VIP lounge of the Kotoka International Airport, Tuesday morning. 

Lawyer for Abiel Ashitey, Frank Davis, told Joy News after the verdict that this was expected.

He said he was grateful that the prosecution’s action “has maintained the integrity of our criminal jurisprudence.”

Joy News' Kwakye Afreh Nuamah who was in court reported there was a carnival after the verdict with family members and friends of the six who regained their freedom, singing, chanting and dancing in the premises of the court.

The six were being held in connection with the cocaine bust at Heathrow Airport in London involving Ghanaian/Austrian, Nayele Ametefeh.

Nayele was arrested on November 10, 2014 for carrying 12/5kg of cocaine.

She had, with the assistance of some state and security officials, breached Ghana's aviation security prior to her arrest in the UK.

The six persons were arrested for their alleged role in the crime and consistently refused bail drawing anger from their lawyers.

When Nayele Ametefe was sentenced on her own plea by the Isleworth Crown Court in London, it paved the way for the accused to ratchet up their argument for bail.

They eventually gained partial freedom after the High Court on December 23, granted them bail.

After that, there were several adjournments forcing the lawyers to ask the court to strike out the case because the prosecution did not appear to have a strong case against the six. 

On Tuesday, February 24, the state, ignominiously filed a nolle prosequi (a legal term meaning 'unwilling to pursue), allowing the court to set the suspects free.

Mr. Frank Davis said the prosecution should have done that long ago because there was no justifiable basis for holding them especially after the conviction of Nayele who did not mention any of the six as an accomplice.

All the same, he said he was excited that justice had prevailed and his client and the others have their freedoms restored.