Student granted bail for possessing leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Court has granted bail in the sum of GH¢30,000.00 to a 19-year-old student for allegedly possessing two wrappers of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.

Abdul-Rahman Yakubu pleaded guilty to possession of narcotic drug but the Court held that the substance had not been tested and granted him bail to reappear in court on March 31, within which due forensic tests would have been completed.

Police Inspector Michael Koole, prosecuting, told the court presided over by Mr Abdul-Razak Musah, that the suspect was arrested on February 24 at Afrancho near Akomadan.

He said the complainant, Nana Kwaku Bonsam, a fetish priest owns a piece of land at Afrancho which had been turned into a smoking hub by narcotic users.

The Prosecution said the complainant went to the said location and met the suspect and questioned him of his mission on his property but the accused could not give him any tangible reason.

He said the complainant then caused his arrest with the help of other witnesses and when they conducted a search in a bag he was carrying, two wrappers of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp were found.

The prosecution said the suspect was later handed over to the Afrancho Police together with the exhibits for further investigations  

He said the suspect claimed ownership of the exhibits in his cautioned statement and they were sealed in the presence of an independent witness before being forwarded to the Police Forensic Laboratory in Accra for testing.