Tagor Cocaine Trail:Secret tape played in open court
Gilbert Boyefio
05/04/2007
Justice Jones Dotse yesterday overruled an appeal by prosecution in the cocaine trial of Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning and Alhaji Issah Abass, for the court to listen to the secret recording of Detective Inspector Charles Adaba, the investigator in the case, in chambers.
According to evidence before the court, a meeting at the official residence of the now suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kofi Boakye, last May to find out who was behind rumours that ACP Boakye was responsible for about two tonnes of cocaine which went missing on the high sees under surveillance, was secretly recorded.
The prosecution is alleging that the accused persons made confessions on the tape that they had in fact peddled drugs in the past and had also jointly planned to find the missing cocaine and share the proceeds.
Though, the source of the tape was not established, the court admitted it in evidence, on the basis that its relevance far outweighed the method by which it was secured.
But, not only was the original tape's audibility in question, the court needed to be satisfied that the voices on the tape included those of the two accused persons.
Detective Inspector Adaba had told the court that on March 21, he recorded the voices of Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning and Alhaji Issah Abass, Alhaji Moro, Kwabena Acheampong, and ACP Kofi Boakye, without their knowledge.
His excuse was that it was necessary for them not to know so that they would not disguise their voices.
He had explained that he took the decision after a voice expert in the UK, requested voice samples of the accused persons for voice-speaker verification. JP French Associates of York had been contracted by the prosecution to undertake auditory analysis of the Kofi Boakye tape.
Echoing an informal appeal made by Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, at the last sitting on the same issue, William Kpobi, a Principal State Attorney, told the court that "the prosecution did not want the information on the secret recording to be made in the public domain."
Ellis Owusu Fordjour, lead Counsel for Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning, objected to the application. He argued that the secret recording was in evidence, besides exhibition D (the Kofi Boakye tape) was played in open court, and therefore the same rule should be applied.
The trial judge, who is an Appeals Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, held that in his opinion the prosecution had failed to convince the court on why the tape should not be played in open court.
He added that the tape was not going to be played for its truthfulness but rather for the purpose of voice sampling. The secret recordings were labeled exhibition E, E1, E2, E3 and E4.
Detective Inspector Adaba, who is also the seventh prosecution witness in the case, had earlier on told the court that a voice expert, after comparing the secret recording to the ACP Kofi Boakye tape, wrote a report on it and also transcribed it both in English and Akan.
He tendered a charge sheet and statement of Ahaji Issah Abass into evidence. He said on the other hand Tagor refused to give any statement and rather requested that he (Adaba) speak to his (Tagor"s) lawyer, Nana Asante Bediatuo.
He said his investigations in the underworld indicated that the two accused persons were responsible for the loss of the 76 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at the Tema harbour.
05/04/2007
Justice Jones Dotse yesterday overruled an appeal by prosecution in the cocaine trial of Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning and Alhaji Issah Abass, for the court to listen to the secret recording of Detective Inspector Charles Adaba, the investigator in the case, in chambers.
According to evidence before the court, a meeting at the official residence of the now suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kofi Boakye, last May to find out who was behind rumours that ACP Boakye was responsible for about two tonnes of cocaine which went missing on the high sees under surveillance, was secretly recorded.
The prosecution is alleging that the accused persons made confessions on the tape that they had in fact peddled drugs in the past and had also jointly planned to find the missing cocaine and share the proceeds.
Though, the source of the tape was not established, the court admitted it in evidence, on the basis that its relevance far outweighed the method by which it was secured.
But, not only was the original tape's audibility in question, the court needed to be satisfied that the voices on the tape included those of the two accused persons.
Detective Inspector Adaba had told the court that on March 21, he recorded the voices of Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning and Alhaji Issah Abass, Alhaji Moro, Kwabena Acheampong, and ACP Kofi Boakye, without their knowledge.
His excuse was that it was necessary for them not to know so that they would not disguise their voices.
He had explained that he took the decision after a voice expert in the UK, requested voice samples of the accused persons for voice-speaker verification. JP French Associates of York had been contracted by the prosecution to undertake auditory analysis of the Kofi Boakye tape.
Echoing an informal appeal made by Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, at the last sitting on the same issue, William Kpobi, a Principal State Attorney, told the court that "the prosecution did not want the information on the secret recording to be made in the public domain."
Ellis Owusu Fordjour, lead Counsel for Kwabena "Tagor" Amaning, objected to the application. He argued that the secret recording was in evidence, besides exhibition D (the Kofi Boakye tape) was played in open court, and therefore the same rule should be applied.
The trial judge, who is an Appeals Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, held that in his opinion the prosecution had failed to convince the court on why the tape should not be played in open court.
He added that the tape was not going to be played for its truthfulness but rather for the purpose of voice sampling. The secret recordings were labeled exhibition E, E1, E2, E3 and E4.
Detective Inspector Adaba, who is also the seventh prosecution witness in the case, had earlier on told the court that a voice expert, after comparing the secret recording to the ACP Kofi Boakye tape, wrote a report on it and also transcribed it both in English and Akan.
He tendered a charge sheet and statement of Ahaji Issah Abass into evidence. He said on the other hand Tagor refused to give any statement and rather requested that he (Adaba) speak to his (Tagor"s) lawyer, Nana Asante Bediatuo.
He said his investigations in the underworld indicated that the two accused persons were responsible for the loss of the 76 parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at the Tema harbour.
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