GH¢13 million bail granted to four accused in Kotoka cocaine trafficking case

An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail totalling GH¢13 million to four individuals accused of attempting to traffic suspected cocaine through the Swissport cargo terminal at Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

The accused — Gariba Soli, Josiah Biney, Emmanuel Minta, and Kwabena Ampofo Anti — face charges of conspiracy and unlawful possession of narcotic substances. Bail was set at GH¢13 million with four sureties. All sureties must be civil servants earning no less than GH¢5,000 monthly, and one must justify the bail with landed property valued at a minimum of GH¢1 million.

Presiding over the case, Judge Sedinam Awo Kwadam imposed strict conditions on the accused. The court ordered the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to collect and submit their biodata to all passport offices nationwide, effectively barring them from obtaining new travel documents. Any existing passports must be surrendered to the registrar of the court. Additionally, the accused have been placed on a stop list at all border entry and exit points — air, sea, and land — and are prohibited from leaving Ghana without court permission.

As part of the bail conditions, the four must report to NACOC twice every week. The court adjourned proceedings to June 18, 2025.

According to the Ghana News Agency, the accused were arrested following a major narcotics interception at the Swissport Cargo Terminal. On April 23, 2025, security personnel at the export section flagged three wooden crates bound for Brussels due to suspicious packaging.

Initial inspection of the crates revealed only wooden artefacts. However, further scans revealed concealed compartments hiding 73 tightly packed slabs of suspected narcotics. A field test on one of the slabs confirmed the substance as cocaine.

Soli, who operated as an artefact dealer at Accra’s Art Exhibition Centre, is said to have been the shipper. He told investigators he had been contracted by a man named Patrick to export the wooden artefacts to the Netherlands and had worked with local associates identified as Onik and Imex since January 2025.

According to his statement, the crates were delivered to him by Onik, after which he and the other accused packed and sealed the artefacts before delivering them to Swissport on April 14, 2025. He claimed the cargo remained with the logistics agents until he was summoned for inspection, which led to his arrest.

The suspected drugs have been sent to the Ghana Standards Authority for detailed laboratory analysis and official confirmation.