Music producer nabbed over cocaine

Page 3: Daily Graphic, April 30, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A SELF-proclaimed music producer was on Tuesday night arrested by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) for allegedly attempting to smuggle substances suspected to be cocaine outside the country.
Samuel Sarfo Kantanka, alias Manga, 56, claimed he would have been paid £4,000 if he had successfully delivered the 96 pellets of cocaine he claimed to have swallowed.
As of the time of filing this report, Sarfo Kantanka was still expelling the drugs he ingested.
The suspect was arrested while going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on his way to London.
He, however, denied being a music producer and explained that he had used that profession to acquire a passport and facilitate his travels abroad.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of Operations of NACOB, Mr Dickson Akatsa, said the board’s operatives had accosted Sarfo Kantanka on suspicion that he was carrying drugs.
He said the suspect, who was travelling on a Ghanaian passport with number H1894034, was then taken through the body scanner, which showed that there were some foreign materials concealed in his body.
He said a urine test confirmed that the suspect had ingested narcotic substances.
According to him, upon interrogation, the suspect allegedly mentioned someone he identified only as Stone as the one who gave him the drugs at a guest house at Ashongman to give to a Ghanaian in London, whom he identified only as Obroni.
Mr Akatsa said Sarfo Kantanka led NACOB officials on a wild goose chase to locate Stone’s house after he had told the officials that he knew the house.
The suspect told NACOB officials that he was not a music producer but that the accolade had been given to him when he followed some bandsmen around the country between 1977 and 1979.
According to him, he also adopted that profession to help Ghanaians travel abroad under the guise of going to produce music abroad.