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Three people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the theft and sale of COVID-19 (COVISHIELD) vaccines in Ghana.
The three were arrested by national security officials.
They are Stephen Dzisenu, 37-year-old disease control officer from the Greater Accra Regional Hospital; Occupational health and safety officer, 42, Cosmos Allotey and a project assistant and former laboratory technician at Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Joseph Knight Gaisie.
A fourth suspect, a disease control officer at La Bawalashie Polyclinic, Lord Pabitey is now at large and security guards are looking for him.
Dzisenu allegedly stole 36 vials of COVIDSHIELD and while Pabitey, now at large, also allegedly stole 26 vials of COVIDSHIELD.
Allotey allegedly received the COVIDSHIELD stolen from Pabitey and Dzisenu and then administered the vaccines at a cost of GH ¢ 200 per injection.
Gaisie, for his part, is detained for complicity in a crime.
The three – Dzisenu, Gaisie and Allotey – were remanded in custody by an Accra circuit court only to reappear on April 1, 2021.
At the prosecution, Detective Sergeant Frederick Sarpong urged the Court, chaired by Ms Afia Owusuaa, not to accept the defendants’ pleas as investigations were ongoing and efforts were underway to arrest others suspected of being involved in the crime.
The accused’s charges were not read to them. However, the facts of the case were read out in open court.
Detective Sergeant Sarpong said those accused, when released on bail, may not only interfere with investigations, but other witnesses as well.
He said on the facts that other people involved had not yet been arrested and asked the court to remove them.
Lawyers for the defendants have requested bail, saying their clients were servants of the Republic and would do nothing to interfere with the investigations.
According to lawyers, the defendants had fixed places of residence and people who would surety for them when they were released on bail.
The court rejected the defense attorney’s request for bail and said it was tilted by the facts that the prosecution told the court that other defendants had failed. still been arrested and investigations were ongoing.
The facts presented by the prosecution were that the complainants were national security agents.
The prosecution said that during the first week of March this year, officers received reports that some health officials had stolen and sold the Covid-19 vaccines brought by the government of Ghana.
Detective Sergeant Sarpong said that thanks to the intelligence, Allotey’s name was mentioned and his phone number obtained as the one injecting the Covid-19 vaccines for a fee.
He said the complainant contacted Allotey and pretended to want to buy some of the Covid-19 vaccines, so he charged the complainant GH ¢ 200.00 per vaccination.
The prosecution said that on March 16 of this year, Allotey was arrested when he was invited to Labone in Accra to inject the plaintiff at the cost of GH ¢ 200.
He said when Allotey was searched eight vials of COVIDSHIELD, eight used COVIDSHIELD, 173 pieces of unused 0.5ml injection syringes and cotton wool were found on him.
The prosecution said during questioning, Allotey mentioned Dzisenu and Pabitey as his source.
He said Allotey led national security agents to arrest Dzisenu and Gaisie.
The prosecution said that Allotey, in his investigative warning, admitted to purchasing 36 of the government-purchased COVIDSHIELD vaccine vials for GH ¢ 18,000.00.
According to him, Allotey added that he sold 20 vials of COVIDSHIELD at a cost of GH ¢ 16,000.00 and then returned 15 vials to Dzisenu.
The prosecution said Allotey also purchased 26 vials of COVIDSHIELD from Pabitey at a cost of GH ¢ 4,800.
Mr Sarpong said that Dzisenu in his warning statement mentioned Gaisie as the one who aided and facilitated the sale of the stolen CONVIDSHIELD vaccine from Allotey.
The prosecution said efforts were underway to arrest Pabitey and others.
credit; GNA
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