I have warrant to arrest British fugitive — Investigator
The investigator in the extradition proceedings involving the British fugitive, David McDermott, told the Accra High Court last Thursday that he had a warrant which gave him the authority to arrest the accused person.
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The investigator, Detective Sergeant Mawuko Siaw, was answering questions under cross-examination by Mr Victor Adawudu, counsel for the fugitive.
McDermott, 42, is wanted in the United Kingdom for his alleged role in a conspiracy to import £71 million worth of cocaine into that country in 2013.
He is alleged to be part of a gang that smuggled 400 kilogrammes of cocaine, with a street value of £71 million, from Argentina to the United Kingdom.
He was arrested in Ghana on March 11, 2016, based on an extradition request issued by the British High Commission to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ghana.
On his first appearance before the court on March 14, 2016, McDermott pleaded not guilty to the charge of engaging in prohibitive business relating to narcotic drugs and conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Cross-examination
Asked whether he could provide the arrest warrant in court, Sergeant Siaw said the documents were part of the depositions tendered in court.
He told the court, presided over by Mrs Justice Merley Wood, that the arrest warrant was issued by Graham Roberts, a District Judge in Liverpool.
He said the warrant from the Liverpool District Magistrate’s Court was made available through the British High Commission in Ghana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Basis for arrest
He told the court that the warrant was supported by another warrant issued by the Ministry of the Interior.
According to Sergeant Siaw, he undertook the arrest on the basis of the authority obtained from the extradition request issued by the British High Commission and other documents tendered in evidence.
He added that in his estimation, those documents were enough and provided ample grounds for McDermott’s arrest.
Unprofessional conduct
When counsel accused Sergeant Siaw of acting unprofessionally and arresting McDermott unlawfully, Sergeant Siaw replied that he had done nothing outside the powers vested in him as a police officer, adding that he could also arrest somebody with or without a warrant, so long as a crime had been committed.
Counsel also contested the fact that the date on the documents from the Ministry of the Interior had been erased or falsified, but Sergeant Siaw maintained that the document was in that form before it was carried from the ministry to his office.
The case was adjourned to March 30, 2016.