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THERE WAS drama at the Ashaiman police station yesterday when 15 inmates who were remanded into prison custody by various courts within the Tema Metropolis, squatted and eased themselves in the cells, after which they smeared their bodies with the stinky waste. Some of the inmates went as far as painting their mouths with their faeces in protest against Police orders to transfer them to the Nsawam Prisons, as a �Black Maria� arrived to transport them where they were expected to be kept until their next appearance in court. All 15 suspects had earlier appeared before various courts within the Metropolis for crimes that they were allegedly involved in and had been remanded into prison custody to reappear on later dates. About 9 of the 15 inmates who could not bring themselves to accept that they were actually going to be sent to the Nsawam Prisons quickly eased themselves in the cells and smeared the excreta on their own bodies to prevent the police from getting closer to them. Other inmates that were among the 15 scheduled for the Nsawam trip, on realizing that the trick had worked, also did same by smearing the excreta from their colleagues on themselves- a situation which, according to one of the officers at the station, created a very foul smell there. The inmates were reported to have explained that if they were sent to the Nsawam Prisons, their families might not take the trouble to visit them and added that most inmates who were sent to the Nsawam Prisons sometimes languished there for years without making any appearance in court. When DAILY GUIDE visited the station, about seven of the 15 inmates had been taken away after officers convinced them to stop the unusual riot. Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Chief Inspector Olivia Turkson, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Tema Police Regional Command, confirmed the resistance and explained that seven out of the 15 had already joined the �Black Maria� to the Nsawam Prisons after they were advised for close to an hour, adding that her outfit and some senior officers at the station were still in talks with the rest of the inmates with a view to convincing them to join their colleagues at Nsawam. �We have explained to them that we are carrying out court orders and have also explained to them the need to go to Nsawam so as to avoid congestion in the cell. We hope to engage the rest in a dialogue so that they too can understand the need to be transferred to the Nsawam prisons,� Chief Inspector Turkson remarked. She disclosed that the seven, after accepting to be transferred to the prison, washed down and joined the only vehicle in the metropolis which conveys convicted persons to prisons. The others were expected to leave for Nsawam Prisons today. According to the Tema Regional Police Commander, the court orders were based on the tragic incident that occurred recently at the Ashaiman cells where two inmates suffocated to death.