Elliot Patterson, a dispatch rider, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 with two sureties for possession of dried plant material suspected to be Indian hemp, a narcotic drug, without lawful authority. Elliot was granted bail after pleading not guilty to the charge yesterday.
The court, presided over by Rosemary Baah Torsu, prior to granting the bail, was told by the accused that he bought the purported narcotic drug for cosmetics purpose.
The court was told by the prosecutor, Inspect Josephine Lamptey, that the complainants and witnesses in the case were police personnel stationed at La Police.
She informed the court that on September 6, 2022, at about 2:00am, the complainant and witnesses in the case were on duty at La Zenith College Snap Check Point, adding that while they were checking traffic, the accused person pulled up on a motorbike.
The police personnel conducted a search on the accused person’s hand bag and in the process, found a quantity of plant materials wrapped in polythene, suspected to be Indian hemp, which is considered a narcotic drug under Ghanaian law.
Nevertheless, she said, when the accused person was arrest, he told the oolice in his statement that he bought the said narcotic substance from a Zabarima man in town, and that he intended to use it for hair treatment.
She added that the plant materials had been forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory for further investigation.
