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Accused British drug smuggler's case on hold

David McDermott

The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court in April allowed the state to extradite McDermott to the United Kingdom as he is alleged to have smuggled 400 kilogrammes of cocaine.

According to the court, presided over by Mrs. Justice Merley Afua Wood, the UK government’s request for McDermott’s extradition was in line with all the necessary legal requirements in the country, Joy Online reported.

However, the High Court has adjourned the case to allow McDermott's lawyers to complete all filing and serving process on the court and the Attorney General.

McDermott had been hiding in Ghana from the British authorities under the name David Smith for the past three years but was picked up at his hideout in Accra on March 11, 2016.

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He is wanted by the UK government to stand trial in the Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrate’s Court for narcotic offences.

However, in trying to get him extradited to the UK to face the court, McDermott's lawyers have argued there is no legal basis for his extradition, stating the extradition treaty between Ghana and the UK had been repealed, and narcotic offences were not part of crimes that warranted extradition.

In its ruling, however, the court disagreed with counsel’s argument, stating that although the treaty had been repealed, some of its provisions were maintained and those provisions had kept the treaty in force.

The court also argued narcotic chargess warranted extradition because the country was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Narcotics which enjoined it to cooperate with other countries in narcotic-related offences, Joy Online reports.

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