Accra: A former detective with the Ghana Police Service, Norbert Anane Dei, has recounted details of the 2006 MV Benjamin cocaine scandal, describing how seized cocaine parcels later turned into 'kokonte flour' after being transferred to the Police Headquarters.
According to Ghana Web, 77 parcels of cocaine were offloaded at Tema on April 26, 2006, and intercepted by a police team at Prampram. Anane Dei explained that the operation began after he received intelligence about a vessel carrying cocaine that had docked at Prampram instead of the Tema Harbor. The tip-off came from a disgruntled fisherman who had been underpaid by the traffickers.
'I was working with the Ghana Police Service in the CID Division of Prampram Police Station. That was my station then. What happened was that I had information that some people were carrying cocaine on a ship called MV Benjamin. They didn't go to the main harbor as it supposed to but instead of the Tema Harbor, they docked at Prampram Beach,' Dei detailed.
The information was provided by a fisherman who tipped off the police after receiving less payment than expected from the traffickers. Dei reported the intelligence to his superiors, leading to a team being formed to intercept the consignment. The suspects attempted to conceal the drugs by mixing them with fish in a vehicle.
'We laid an ambush there; they didn't see us. We saw them, brought everything, and packed it in a registered cargo Benz Sprinter, and after they put the substance, that is cocaine, into the Benz Sprinter, they put fish on it,' Dei elaborated.
Anane Dei further described that influential individuals were waiting nearby to receive the consignment. However, the police intervened, arresting the driver of the Benz Sprinter and impounding the substance, though other suspects managed to flee.
The seized items were initially taken to the Prampram Police Station, but some officers allegedly stole portions of the drugs. The remaining parcels were sent to the Police Headquarters, where they reportedly turned into dried cassava flour, or 'kokonte powder', during forensic examination.
'But at the headquarters, later on, we had information that it had turned into Kokonte powder,' Dei revealed. He also mentioned that the team accepted a $35,000 bribe from the suspects at the scene, yet they proceeded with the arrests.
Dei admitted that the case had significant personal repercussions, including struggles with drug addiction. He stated that the original substance sent from Prampram was genuine cocaine, but forensic examinations later revealed it to be something else entirely.