Some officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) on Monday faced fierce resistance from the mother of Nayele Ametefe, when they attempted to post a notice of confiscation on her residential property at East Legon, a suburb of Accra.
Nayele’s mother is said to have assaulted one of the NACOB officials who had been sent to carry out that duty.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LdbDCtDvIgHusBtX9PiENz1JYSalXJpT”]Citi News source at NACOB confirmed the incident and indicated that the assault case has been reported to the Police.
According to the source, all of Nayale’s buildings both in Accra and her hometown have been served with confiscation notice following her arrest and incarceration.
The Board has also resorted to the court to secure a court order to enable them confiscate the properties.
Ms Ametefe was on Tuesday sentenced to 8 years, 8 months in jail by a UK court.
She was arrested at the Heathrow airport in November 2014 for attempting to smuggle 12kg of cocaine into the UK.
Nayale is reported to have had in her possession, £23,000 and $6,000 when she was arrested, which is currently in the custody of the UK Border agency.
She pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against her.
Narcotic laws on confiscation of properties
Sections 13, 14, 17 and 18 of Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement and Sanctions) law – 1990 (PNDCL 236) stipulates that the Attorney General (AG) must make an application for the forfeiture of the properties of persons convicted for drug related offences.
This means that the AG, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong must submit an application to the court to enable the state confiscate Ms Ametefe’s properties.
From section 16 however, once there is evidence of liability, whether in Ghana or abroad, the forfeiture can happen but only by an application by the AG in court.
Under Section 36 titled: ‘Seizure of Immovable Property’, the law states that “where a police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police reasonably suspects that any immovable property is the subject matter of an offence under this Law, or is illegal property, the property shall be liable to seizure.”
The seizure is to be effected “by posting, where practicable, a copy of the notice of seizure in a conspicuous position on the immovable property; and by lodging a copy of the notice of seizure at the Lands Title Registry.”
The Lands Registrar is therefore expected to “make an entry in the Register kept in his office of the terms of the notice of seizure of the immovable property.”
The entry which is made under sub-section (2) “shall have the effect of prohibiting all dealings in respect of the immovable property and accordingly, after the notice has been lodged with the Lands Registrar, no dealing in respect of the immovable property shall be registered, whether it was lodged before or after the lodgment of the notice of seizure or the making of the entry.”
–
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana