Labourer fined GH¢120,000 for possessing and selling cannabis, tramadol

A 20-year-old labourer, Kojo Sah Nkrumah, has been fined GH¢120,000 by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for possessing and selling cannabis and tramadol without lawful authority.

Nkrumah, who pleaded guilty to two counts of possession and selling of narcotic drugs without lawful authority, will serve three years in prison in default of payment.

The court, presided over by Ms Bernice Mensimah Ackon, convicted and sentenced him on his own plea.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samuel Ahiabor told the court that the complainants were police officers stationed at the Western Central Regional Formed Police Unit (RFPU) Base in Tarkwa.

He said Nkrumah, a resident of Tarkwa Railway Station, was arrested at about 0130 hours on January 21, 2025, during a routine night patrol by a police team, led by Chief Inspector Issahaque Yahaya.

Prosecution said the officers extended their patrol to the Tarkwa Railway Station, where they found Nkrumah seated under a shed selling substances suspected to be narcotic drugs.

A search of a takeaway bag in his possession uncovered 81 pieces of wrapped dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, seven sachets of tramadol and GH¢240 in cash, believed to be proceeds from the sale of the substances.

The prosecution said Nkrumah was subsequently escorted to the Tarkwa Police Station with the exhibits.

On April 25, 2025, the exhibits were sent to the Forensic Crime Laboratory in Accra for examination.

A report received on May 13, 2025, showed that the plant material tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive compound in cannabis, with a gross weight of 139.61 grammes.