Three persons accused of stealing medicines from the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga have been denied bail for the second time by the Circuit Court.
The accused, all workers of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), have been held on three counts of conspiracy to commit crime, abetment and stealing.
Ibrahim Fasilat, 48, a storekeeper; Bridget Banoeyelle, 33, Assistant Dispensary Officer, and Raymond Asoke, 36, driver, all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and had been remanded in police custody again.
They will reappear before the court to be presided over by Mr Sumaila Amadu on September 6, 2023.
The arrest followed the work of investigative journalist, Edward Adeti of the Media Without Borders, who uncovered the alleged nefarious activity on camera and drew the attention of the law enforcers to take the necessary action.
Prosecutor, Inspector Prosper Adabeen, said on August 4, 2023, the Bolgatanga Divisional Police Command received intelligence that some workers of the Regional Hospital had been stealing boxes of drugs from a storeroom of the hospital, which were sold to private drug store operators within and outside the region.
Insp. Adabeen said the Divisional Police Patrol Team, led by Detective Sergeant Eric Negble, monitored and arrested a driver, who was loading boxes of drugs into a red Toyota Vitz car with registration number GE1532-21 from the official residence of Banoella, the Assistant Dispensary Officer.
The prosecution said 34 boxes of assorted medications have been retrieved and tendered as evidence before the court.
Insp. Adabeen said that the driver (one of three accused) told the police that the storekeeper, Mrs Raheem, had asked him to convey the drugs to her house.
He said Mrs Raheem was arrested at her official bungalow within the premises of the hospital.
The court heard that the prime suspect, Mrs Raheem, told the police that Banoeyelle was her collaborator, and that the two had been engaging in the act of drug theft for the past years.
Insp. Adabeen said Banoeyelle was also arrested by the police at her residence at Bukere, a suburb of Bolgatanga.
The prosecution said the three accused, who have allegedly stolen and sold the drugs and shared the proceeds among themselves, refused to disclose the identity of their buyers.
Counsels for the accused, led by Bagonluri Lwanga Sannyeh, pleaded with the court to grant their clients bail, citing they had no criminal record.
He told the court that the accused were responsible parents and had their permanent places of abode, and would not abscond if granted bail.
But the court dismissed the plea, and remanded accused in police custody in Bolgatanga.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BOLGATANGA
