"My Lord, I am guilty"

Saturday, May 1, 2010

By Stephen Kwabena Effah

BARELY 72 hours after his arrest for attempted drug trafficking, the 56-year old music producer and self-confessed visa contractor, Sam Safo Kantanka, yesterday pleaded guilty when he made his maiden appearance at the Accra Fast Track High Court.

Although no official charge was read to him, he said: “My lord, there is no need for remand. I am guilty,” he told the court with confidence just when the presiding judge, Justice Charles Quist, ordered that he should be remanded in custody to appear again on May 27.

However, Justice Quist asked the man who is also known as Manga, to have patience in view of the fact that the substances he expelled had been forwarded to the Ghana Standards Board for analytical examination.

Saying that the proper thing should be done, Justice Quist asked the prosecutor, Chief State Attorney Asiamah Sampong to ensure that the Ghana Standards Board expedited action on the examination of the 96 thumb-sized substances suspected to be cocaine.

On Thursday, Kantanka told Narcotic officers that “I know I have committed an offence and I wish to be processed for court as early as possible”

When the case was called yesterday, Mr.Sampong asked the court to remand Kantanka in view of the fact that the substances have been forwarded for examination by the Ghana Standards Board.

Kantanka, who is resident at Sowutuom, a surburb of Accra, was arrested on April 27, at about 8:00pm while going through departure formalities to board a British Airways flight number BA 78 to London, on suspicion that he had ingested narcotic drugs.

A sample of his urine was tested and it proved positive for cocaine.

During interrogation by Narcotic Control Board officials, he was said to have admitted swallowing narcotic drugs claiming that it was given to him by one Stone of Ashongman Estate in Accra to be delivered to one Obroni in London for a fee of 4000 pound-sterling.

Kantanka was put under observation and between April 28 and April 29, he was said to have expelled 96 thumb-size pellets of substances suspected to be cocaine.

The substance has since been sent for examination.