The woman who was arrested for carrying cocaine into the UK, Ruby Appiah, alias Nayele Ametefe, may get a reduced jail term because she pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against her on Thursday, a private legal practitioner, Yaw Oppong has suggested.
Nayele Ametefeh, was arrested at the Heahthrow Airport with about 12 kilograms of cocaine.
[contextly_sidebar id=”cP30yU9ZgFgQDXlrf9fKkjNZYhwn86Zv”]When she appeared before the Crown Court in UK on Thursday, Nayele Ametefeh pleaded guilty. to the charge of carrying cocaine to the UK.
The woman was facing a possible 15 year jail term or more if she had pleaded not guilty.
But speaking on Eyewitness News, Lawyer Oppong explained that “when a person is arrested and charged with an offence and presented to court for trial, the principle is that it is the prosecutor or the state that has the duty to establish that a person has committed an offence without any reasonable doubt.”
He said in this case “the person said that I am guilty so there is nothing left for the prosecution to prove and then the court can go on and read the sentence,” he added.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hannah Tetteh, Ms Ametefe had told Ghana’s High Commission in the UK that she thought the package she was carrying was “gold and not cocaine.”
This fueled speculations that Ms Ametefe was likely to plead not guilty.
But following yesterday’s developments, lawyer Oppong said, “The court has to determine what will be appropriate punishment because you have not wasted the courts time and public funds for going through trials for many months or years. What the court cannot do is convict or sentence you below the number of estimated number of years or period. The fact that you did not waste the courts time, the fact that you have shown remorse…these will be important considerations,” he added.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor, Ravinder John revealed in court that Nayele Ametefeh told border patrol officers that she was in the country (UK) “for shopping.”
So far twelve suspected persons believed to have aided Nayele to transport the illicit drug to the UK have been arrested.
Meanwhile, President John Mahama has also hinted of plans to review the caliber of people who use the VIP lounge at the Kotoka International Airport, after it was revealed that Nayele Ametefe, used that lounge to transport cocaine to the UK.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana