UK gov’t will continue to collaborate with NACOB – Jon Benjamin

The UK government has indicated its determination to continue to collaborate with the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) despite recent a row between the Board and the High Commission following the arrest of a Ghanaian lady for illegally smuggling cocaine into that country.
Nayele Ametefe, 32, was arrested on November, 10, 2014 at London’s Heathrow Airport for trafficking 12.5 kilos of cocaine.

NACOB had claimed its collaboration with the UK authorities led to the arrest. The UK High Commission in a counter-statement said the UK authorities “had no prior knowledge of the intentions of Ms. Nayele Ametefeh before flying from Accra to London on 9/10 November”.

She was on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 handed a jail term of eight years and eight months by the Isleworth Crown Court after pleading guilty to the offence.

However, the UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin has said the disagreements over the Nayele case will not affect the existing relationship between the two countries.

Speaking on the Joy FM Super Morning Show, Wednesday, January 7, 2015, Mr. Jon Benjamin said the UK will continue to exchange information with the Board on drug-related cases in their determination to fight the illicit drug trade.

“We saw the need to correct what we thought was factual inaccuracy but from our perspective that doesn’t in anyway affect our determination to collaborate with NACOB,” Mr. Benjamin told Kojo Yankson, host of the Super Morning Show.

He reiterated the commitment of his country “to continue collaborating closely with NACOB as we have done for many years now”.
Commenting on the sentence which some Ghanaians believe to be overly lenient, Mr. Jon Benjamin said, “It [sentencing] was within the guidelines that exist for that particular offence”.

Source: myjoyonline.com