A trader and a driver have been sentenced to a fine of GHS6,000 by the Juaso Circuit Court.
Kwadwo Effah, trader and Emmanuel Ayivi, driver, were found guilty of reproducing and selling Apostle Kwadwo Safo’s agro-chemicals without authority.
They will serve two years each in prison if they default in paying the fine.
They pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to sell someone’s product and reproduction of someone’s product without authority.
The Prosecution officer, Police Chief Inspector Dela Amenuvor, told the court, presided over by Nana Asantewaa Atakorah that the complainant, James Nsiah, a Chief Security Officer of the Kristo Asafo Church in the Ashanti Region complained that the Founder and Leader of the Kristo Asafo Church has produced some agro-chemicals which were yet to be commissioned, yet some unscrupulous people have been selling the products with the label – “Akate Suro Africa Star”, on the local market.
According to the prosecution, word was communicated to members of the church across the country to be on the lookout for the perpetrators, in order to clamp down on the illegal activity.
Chief Inspector Amenuvor said on June 22, at about 7:30am, one Kwame Agyei Asamoah, who is a witness in the case, was approached by Ayivi with some agro-chemicals, with the label of Apostle Kwadwo Safo.
Upon enquiries as to the source of the chemicals, the driver mentioned the name of Effah, following which he called the Chief Security of the church who arranged for the arrest of Ayivi, who assisted the police to arrest Effah and a taxicab, with registration number GS 9159, which was used to convey the chemicals to farmers.
The police retrieved 87 insecticide powders, 24 labelled bottles of agro-chemicals, as well as 13 unlabelled chemicals from the cab.
Effah, in his caution statement admitted reproducing the products and acted together with Ayivi to sell same to farmers, without authorisation from the original manufacturers.
