Cocaine Booms At Ho Market

Some forty wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine have been found around Ho Central Market area during a swoop conducted by the Volta Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service at about 3:30am on Monday. The police also arrested 21 people in the early-hours swoop. The cocaine was alleged to have been on sale by some of the suspects around the Ho central market, sending panic among residents who believed that the sale of the drug in open market was the beginning of dark days for residents. As at the time of going to press however, the police could not establish how much each wrap of the substance was being sold for. But reports indicate that a wrap of the drug was sold between GH¢30 to GH¢45. A visibly worried mother of four, who spoke to Daily Guide after the arrest and seizure of the drugs, said she only heard of the sale of the drug in other parts of the country “and even in such situations, they are being exported or imported, but for the drug to be sold in an open market is a major cause of worry to every concern citizen.” Other items found during the swoop included quantities of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, offensive weapons like cutlasses, daggers, pairs of scissors and knives and an E-zwich card belonging to one Yvonne. During the swoop, nineteen males and two females were arrested and arraigned before a Ho Circuit Court on Tuesday presided over by Ernest Obimpeh. All the suspects have been put on remand with the exception of one of them who is on a GH¢2000 bail. Answering questions from the presiding judge, many of the suspects admitted that they were unemployed, with others saying they were truck pushers, butchers and mason apprentices. Confirming the retrieval of the items to journalists in Ho on Monday, Volta Regional Police Commander, ACP David Nenyi Ampah-Bennin, said the swoop was part of measures his outfit was taking to curb criminal activities in the Region. ACP Ampah-Bennin observed that criminals would like to seek refuge in the region because of its closeness to the boarder which they believed would facilitate their easy escape and more so, when other regions such as Ashanti, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions were descending on them. He warned criminals who believed the region might be their new haven of operation to rescind the decision because he and his men were ready to make life miserable for them. The Volta Police Boss assured the public that their identities would be protected and appealed to them to hint the police of activities of criminals in their communities.