New twist in Exopa's coke trial

Thursday 13, 2010
By Stephen Kwabena Effah

THE trial of the Chief Executive of Exopa Model Agency, Sima Ibrahim, yesterday took a new twist following contradictions in the evidence of two prosecution witnesses who visited the accused person’s residence upon his arrest.

Although Anthony Smith, the officer who arrested Sima had testified in court on January 19, 2010, that they found tubers of yams similar to those which were stuffed with cocaine at Sima’s residence, Chief Inspector Andreas Kojo Sorbor, Head of Investigations at the Narcotics Control Board, yesterday testified otherwise.

Insp. Sobor told the court yesterday under cross-examination that neither traces of cocaine nor tubers of yams were found in the accused person’s residence.

“I did not see any yams in the house…I didn’t see any traces of cocaine,” Insp. Sorbor, told the Accra Fast Track High Court presided over by Justice Charles Quist.

According to Insp. Sobor, it was not true that the team of narcotic officials who visited the house of the accused on the dawn of September 7, 2009, saw or collected yams from the residence of Sima at Tema Community 10.

However, both Mr.Smith and Insp. Sobor who have testified in the case as first and third prosecution witnesses respectively, said they retrieved a knife, super glue and scrippers from the residence.

Sima, who organized the first-ever Ghana International Fashion Show in July 2009 after a successful Ghana Fashion Week last year is currently on remand at the Nsawam Maximum Prison on two counts of attempted exportation and possession of narcotic drug without authority.

Until his arrest, Sima has been very instrumental in re-awakening the country’s model and fashion industry with his agency which is training young promising models for the market.

When the case resumed yesterday after more than a months suspension, Insp. Sobor denied counsel’s claim by Sima’s counsel, James Agalga that the team that visited Sima’s residence searched the house.

According to him, when they arrived at the residence, Sima led them straight to the kitchen where the accused showed them a scripper, knife and a partly used super glue which he said was used for the cutting and the sealing of the yams.

Insp. Sobor who told the court that he has 19 years of police experience said those implements were on top of the accused person’s kitchen cabinet and disagreed with Mr.James Agalga’s claim that the team cut the ceiling as part of their search of the house.

He, however, admitted counsel’s claim that two guns belonging to the accused person were retrieved by the team, and noted that those guns were found in the accused person’s vehicles which were seized by the Narcotic Control Board.

Giving his evidence in chief, Insp. Sobor said on September 7, 2009 between 12 noon and 1:00 am he was called to the office to join other officers to go with the accused person to his residence at Tema Community 10.

He said about 10 policemen visited the house and the intent was to retrieve some implements the accused person told them was used to cut the tubers of yams to stuff with cocaine.

He said that in the house, the accused showed the implements which he identified as having used for the cutting and stuffing of the tubers of yam, adding that the team then took possession of the implements.

Under cross-examination, he told the court that he was not present when the accused person was arrested, stressing that he did not also interrogate him upon his arrest.


However, Insp. Sobor told the court that on their way to the accused residence, he asked him some questions based on which the accused told him something about the scripper,knife and the glue he used.

He disagreed with counsel that he was armed to the teeth at the time they visited Sima’s residence, stressing that could not tell if any of the team members was armed as claimed by counsel.

The case has been adjourned to May 20, for continuation

It is the prosecution’s case that on September 7, 2009, Sima arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to board a Lufthansa Flight to Germany and while going through departure formalities, Sima was suspected of carrying narcotic drug following which a search was conducted on him and his luggage.

The prosecution said that the search revealed some whitish substances suspected to be cocaine hidden in four tubers of yam which were found in Sima’s luggage, leading to his arrest.