A 23-year-old woman from Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region, Sakina Mustapha, has been arrested for attempting to smuggle 96 parcels of a substance believed to be cocaine to an inmate of the Sunyani Central Prison.
The suspect, who was to deliver the parcels to the suspect, was arrested while loitering at the barracks of the prison.
The parcels were found in her purse after a search on her.
Briefing
The Brong Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Prisons Service, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Johann Nartey, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani, said the suspect visited the convict, who is serving a 10-year jail term with hard labour for narcotic offences, last Tuesday.
According to him, even though the demeanour of both the convict and his visitor appeared normal at the initial stages of the visit, their interactions later on aroused suspicion.
ASP Nartey explained that since the command had received a tip-off that a lady of her kind would visit the prison with cocaine, the officers put the two under surveillance.
After leaving the prison yard, Sakina, who is a regular visitor to the convict, was later found loitering around the barracks, looking agitated.
She was subsequently invited into the prison, where 96 pieces of the substance suspected to be cocaine wrapped in cigarette foils were found in her purse after a search.
ASP Nartey said after further interrogations, Sakina disclosed that the parcels were given to her by a lady friend of the convict whom she claimed not to know.
The suspect is said to have told officials of the prison that she received a call to meet the lady friend of the convict at an arranged location to collect the parcels meant for the inmate.
She is also said to have stated that she had no previous knowledge of the contents of the parcels she was carrying.
Intermediary
According to ASP Nartey, Sakina disclosed that the parcels were going to be delivered to the prisoner through an intermediary who was to meet her at the barracks to take delivery of the “goods”.
She, however, declined to mention the name of the intermediary, as well as the supposed source of the parcel and the caller, claiming that she did not know them.
He indicated that even though officials of the prison had called the woman with whom Sakina had communicated, she could not be reached after several attempts.
Sakina has since been handed over to the Sunyani Divisional Police Command for further investigations.
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