…Media cameras prevented from working at Kwabenya Circuit Court
An unusual scene unfolded at the Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra on Thursday, September 24, 2026, when supporters of six suspects in the alleged 3.9-tonne cocaine shipment used Kente cloth to shield them from media cameras.
The people shielding the suspects appeared organized, positioning themselves strategically with the Kente cloth around the accused as they arrived at and exited the court, as if they had rehearsed their actions with input from some of the law enforcement officers.
Aside the Kente, some of their supporters had removed their shirts and heckled Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) officers who had escorted the suspects to the Kwabenya Circuit Court for the bail hearing.
Video footage circulating on social media showed relatives and associates of the six accused persons preventing journalists and other media personnel from getting close enough to film them when they were brought to the Kwabenya Circuit Court for the day’s hearing on Thursday.
The six accused persons, Francis Narh Amanor, Frank Adu-Boahen, Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea, and Helena Akua Denkyi, were previously remanded after the court denied them bail on September 17. Their images have been kept a secret from the public.
The media were prevented from getting a clear view of the accused as they entered the courtroom, and the same happened after the hearing, when they were escorted out by BNI and police officers, who appeared helpless in the face of resistance and heckling from the accused persons’ supporters.
The choice of the Kwabenya Circuit Court for the drug trial of the six has also raised questions. More puzzling, however, is the fact that four other persons arrested in connection with the same consignment are also said to be appearing before a separate court – the Accra High Court – over the same consignment of drugs intercepted in France and valued at about US$261 million.
Another development that has attracted attention is that the six suspects were reportedly chauffeured in the same vehicle, raising questions about whether this arrangement could have implications for the police’s evidence-gathering.
At Thursday’s hearing, their lawyers renewed their applications for bail. The defense teams told the court that their clients had cooperated with investigators and the court and had demonstrated their willingness to stand trial.
The court, presided over by His Honour Rev. Prince Osei Owusu, adjourned the case to Tuesday, September 29, to rule on the bail applications.
Prosecutors have linked the four 40-foot containers shipped from the Tema Port and later intercepted at Dunkirk, France, on September 10, 2026, to the six. The bust was carried out by diligent French, Dutch, and Belgian customs and drug-enforcement agencies, who had been tracking the consignment from Ghanaian ports.
The cocaine has been reported to have an estimated value of about €225 million, the equivalent of US$261 million.
According to the prosecution, four of the accused are officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division who were allegedly involved in the scanning process at the Tema Port.
The Customs officers, among the accused persons, reportedly scanned the containers, declared to contain plastic waste, using the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) scanner at the port.
The charge sheet alleges that the containers, which had been declared as containing plastic waste or plastic scraps, were scanned before they left Ghana.
The prosecution alleges that although the scan images showed abnormalities that should have prompted further examination, the containers were nevertheless cleared for export.
It further alleges that Frank Adu-Boahen provided his login credentials to other persons to conduct scan-image analysis on his behalf.
Frank Adu-Boahen is alleged to be the owner of the four containers.
Francis Narh Amanor, described by the prosecution as a freight forwarder and Managing Director of Fresna Commodities Ltd, is also alleged to have facilitated the export of the containers.
The six face charges including conspiracy to export narcotic drugs, unlawful exportation of narcotic drugs, and, in the case of the four Customs officials, abetment of the alleged exportation.
As they exited the Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra after the proceedings, the family members and supporters of the six accused used the Kente cloth and the shirts to shield them from cameras.
Others are Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea, and Helena Akua Denkyi.
Prosecutors revealed that the four 40-foot containers, which had been declared as containing “plastic waste”, left the Tema Port and were intercepted at Dunkirk, France, on September 10, 2026, with about 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine worth approximately €225 million.
The charge sheet alleges that the containers were scanned and that the images showed “abnormalities”, but they were nevertheless cleared for shipment.
Interestingly, there have also been reports of a confrontation involving activist Ralph St Williams and police officers at the Kwabenya Court over media coverage of the case. The incident occurred after state officers attempted to prevent journalists and bloggers from filming the six suspects linked to the major narcotics seizure in France.
The confrontation unfolded as the convoy carrying the accused arrived at the court under heavy security, with several media personnel attempting to capture footage of the accused.
According to reports, officers threatened to confiscate the cameras and mobile phones of people who attempted to film the suspects, prompting a backlash from some of those present.
Mr St Williams reportedly intervened and challenged the police over the obstruction of journalists.
In footage captured by Ghanaian blogger Magikal GH, the activist is heard telling officers: “Remember, they are media men. They have the right to come on whatever they want to. We are no way to stand the court.”
He further argued that a case involving a 3.9-tonne suspected cocaine shipment intercepted in France had serious implications for Ghana’s international reputation.
The cocaine shipment, has attracted significant attention in Ghana and internationally, making public interest in the court proceedings particularly high.
Aside from the six accused persons before the Kwabenya Circuit Court, others, including Jessica Hartog, described as the owner of Eurospa and Beauty Lounge in East Legon; her fiancé, socialite Desmond Koranteng Curiel, popularly known as “Biggs”; Musah Attah, popularly known as “Kromo”; and Kweku Otchere, have also been detained in connection with investigations into the same shipment.
The four are also being investigated by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) for their alleged involvement in the shipment. Connections between the six accused persons and the four over the US$261 cocaine shipment, which is also linked to a Dutch fugitive and drug trafficker, Jos Leijdekkers, alias ‘Bolle Jos’, believed to be hiding in Sierra Leone, have yet to be established.
