64-year-old Ghanaian born but German-based, Osei Boateng who was jailed for attempting to traffic cocaine to Germany has unfortunately passed on after battling kidney failure. Mr. Osei as he was affectionately called had been receiving support from Crime Check Foundation, CCF before his death.
According to one of his nephews, Robert Owusu, he fell ill and was sent to the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital for treatment by a friend. He said they got to know of his condition after he gave his phone number to one of his German based friends who contacted the family.
“Since he came back from Germany, we did not hear from him till he fell sick and was hospitalized. I came to Accra and took him to the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospital after receiving initial treatment from Korle-Bu but he couldn’t survive.” He told crimecheckghana.
Mr. Boateng said he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport after he was caught attempting to smuggle cocaine to Germany.
“I was sentenced to 10-years in prison for attempting to traffic Narcotics (Cocaine) to Germany in 2005 through the influence of my friends. I lived in Hamburg, Germany for 23 years and worked with so many automobile companies as a factory worker. I had a wife and three children and lived a very happy comfortable life.” He recounted.
Mr. Osei Boateng after he was released from prison lost all contacts with his family, friends and also lost all his properties which rendered him homeless. The ex-convict said he had been sleeping on a bench in a mechanical shop because he did not have the means to rent a room. CCF went to his aid to enable him re-integrate into society through its donors as it rented a room for him.
His last words were his advice to the youth. He cautioned people engaging in drug trafficking or considering the idea. According to him, it is better off as a simple hardworking law-abiding citizen than engaging in drug trafficking and losing everything he ever worked for.
CCF, through its Ex-convicts Re-Integration project, has empowered many ex-convicts to re-integrate into society by supporting them with several livelihood initiatives.
