Le Baron Hotel Turns Cemetery

Le Baron Hotel, a once vibrant hotel, located in the elitist East Legon area of Accra and noted for all manner of activities including, social and political strategy meetings, as well as church activities is as dead as a cemetery, days after the arrest of the owner, David Kojo Anim at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom (UK), for narcotic drug trafficking and money laundering. There is virtually no life at the premises of Le Baron Hotel. Management and workers of the hotel appear to have fled, and customers are also not visiting the place to use any of its facilities, which includes a swimming pool, Tennis Court, a bar and a restaurant. It is, however, not clear whether people are afraid to associate themselves with the hotel, since the arrest was made. Three visits carried out by The Herald�s scouts, including one in the night, revealed a rather interesting scene; there was total darkness in and around the hotel premises, meaning there were no attendants available to switch on the lights in the hotel. Two out of the three visits made in the day, saw the hotel unusually quiet, implying that the arrest of David Kojo Anim, a political financier by the Scotland Yard police of UK, has killed the patronage of the hotel. The main gate of the hotel has been left wide open and without a noticeable security man. The swimming pool has also been emptied with the inner part of the pool gathering dust. Ironically, the compound of the hotel also hosts the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) East Legon-Power Temple. Fridges at the bar are not working, even though they had been stocked with drinks, The Herald observed. The Herald scouts, also spotted a white Toyota Tundra vehicle with registration number GS 1-11 parked on the compound of the hotel. It is not clear whether it belonged to any of the absconded managers of the hotel. On the last day of the visit, The Herald scouts were told by an elderly man that the hotel was not in business when the scouts attempted to speak with the reception about making a booking for some guests coming from abroad. He simply told the scouts that the hotel was not in business and that there was no one at the reception. This paper, last week broke the news of the arrest of two suspects after the two David Kojo Anim and Kofi Antwi Nkansah. The two had travelled from Asia and Ghana respectively, but were busted at the Heathrow Airport by the Metropolitan Police for drug trafficking and money laundering. The Herald�s information is that Kofi Antwi Nkansah, lived in Achimota, a suburb of Accra, and runs errands for Mr. Anim. Mr. Anim has been described by the UK security agencies as the leader within the drug trafficking organization responsible for co-ordinating the transportation of large quantities of cocaine and heroin around the world. He is also alleged to have serious ties with major drug gangs in Europe, South America and the United States of America (USA). The two suspects, were said to have delivered 500 kilogrammes of heroin to undercover drug enforcement officials on January 22, 2014, without any incident. The Daily Graphic reports that, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Nii Lante Blankson, confirmed the arrest was in pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant issued by the United States (US) for the arrest of the two Ghanaians and a Nigerian. According to him, Anim, Nkansah and Adjayi Akpo, the Nigerian, had each been indicted and charged in the Southern District Court of New York for the violation of U S Drug Enforcement laws. He said Adjayi was, however, on the run but said an intensive search had been mounted for his arrest. Nii Blankson said since 2012, the NACOB, in collaboration with its foreign counterparts, had been conducting a joint operation on Anim. He said Anim had been able to escape arrest until April 26, 2014 when he was busted at the Heathrow Airport while going through arrival formalities. Nii Blankson indicated that the following day, April 27, 2014, Nkansah was also arrested on arrival at Heathrow from one of the Asian countries. He said the two suspects were to be extradited from the United Kingdom to the Unites States to face trial. Meanwhile, credible information emanating from some managers of Le Baron Hotel at East Legon in Accra, indicates that management of the hotel are taking frantic steps to swerve NACOB by selling the hotel before Ghana�s drug law enforcement officials think of impounding it. Reason behind the sale according to this paper�s sources is to prevent it from being confiscated by the state in the event that, the owner, David Kojo Anim, who has been linked to a major political party in Ghana is found guilty in the United Kingdom (UK) where he is currently awaiting trial over narcotic drugs issue and money laundering. The US drug law enforcers had also kept the owner of Le Baron Hotel on their radar for years, and are demanding for his extradition to that country for prosecution. David Kojo Anim, is reported to be a major financier of the opposition party, a friend to its famous 2012 presidential candidate too who he gave a whopping US$2million. He is also mentioned to be a tight friend of an ex-President of Ghana. Mr. Anim is said to be a product of Achimota School from 1972 to 1977. �The Herald� is in the meantime, working on details of the officials involved in the sale of the hotel to bring out details of those involved.