Crime & Punishment of Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-07-06Pressure mounts in New Juaben NPP for release of 7 persons arrested over wee toffee
The suspects have been granted bail to reappear in court on August 9, 2022.
Sex trafficking activities boom in Koforidua
New Juaben MUSEC cracks down on brothels in Koforidua
Operators of brothels in Koforidua arrested
There is reported pressure in the camp of the New Patriotic Party within the New Juaben Municipality following the arrest of some seven individuals.
The suspects according to a report by dailyguidenetwork.com were arrested
Read full articlelast week by a joint team of Military, Police, Immigration and New Juaben South Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) during a fact-finding mission.
The suspects are said to have been caught in the process of preparing toffee made with marijuana also known as wee at a joint known as ‘Rumors Spot’.
Following their arrest, the suspects, including two females, were arraigned before the Koforidua Circuit Court A on Monday, July 4, 2022.
The accused persons whose ages range between 20 and 26 years, all pleaded not guilty to possessing narcotic drugs when put before the court.
During their appearance in court, a number of New Patriotic Party executives from the New Juaben South Constituency are reported to have been sighted around the court premises.
Together with the executives, the Assemblyman for Ada Electoral Area is said to have ensured the bail conditions of the suspects were met when the court admitted the suspects to bail.
It is not known the reason why members of the party are pushing for the suspects to be freed. However, the MCE for New Juaben, Ike Appaw Gyasi is said to have rejected pressure from within the NPP to free the suspects when they were arrested.
The MCE who doubles as the Chairman of the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), led an unannounced crackdown on suspected brothel facilities within the Koforidua area.
The operation was carried out in conjunction with the Police, Military, Immigration, Fire Service, NIB, and the Assembly.
They raided some popular joints including Little Ben base, Bula Pub, Rumors at Ada, Charsay Pub, and Kofcity pub consecutively.
This exercise was carried out to ascertain first-hand information on growing concerns about developing commercial sex activities in the municipality.
The operators of the raided brothels were subsequently arrested by the taskforce and were later tasked by the Assembly to submit documents supporting their businesses for a decision to be made by the MUSEC.A recent media investigation uncovered young female Nigerians including minors being trafficked to the Koforidua areas for sexual exploitation through the conspiracy of some Ghanaians and Nigerians under the pretext of securing decent and well-paying jobs for them in Ghana.
The girls according to the investigative report however forced into prostitution upon arrival in Ghana.
Bula Spot and Little Ben were cited as two major notorious brothels being used by the traffickers to house their victims in Koforidua.
GA/WA
