David McDermott, the British drug kinpin who managed to not only escape to Ghana but marry the daughter of the Bank of Ghana governor, has pleaded not guilty during his first appearance in court.
McDermott appeared before the Accra High Court Monday as law enforcement commences extradition proceedings against him.
McDermott, who did not have any legal representative, pleaded not guilty to the charge of dealing in prohibited drugs.
Prosecutors asked for more time to complete investigations with the help of their foreign counterparts, and the judge concurred and adjourned the case to March 30, 2016.
It was also revealed in court that McDermott has a Ghanaian passport, with the name David Smith, and has been using it the past few years. He runs a mining company in the Eastern Region using this identity.
David McDermott, 42, was arrested in Accra in a joint operation involving Britain’s National Crime Agency and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) last Friday.
McDermott was arrested at his residence at Burma Hills, by officers of both agencies.
The fugitive is one of several individuals suspected to be connected to a 2013 drug seizure by British authorities, members of a Liverpool based gang attempting to smuggle cocaine and distribute within Britain. The drugs were seized at Tilbury docks nearly three years ago, hidden in a container of frozen Argentinean beef.
McDermott has since been wanted in connection with that drug bust, and also for another charge of conspiracy to commit blackmail.
It has since emerged that his exile in Ghana was not low-key, as he married the step-daughter of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ramona Wampah. The couple has one child.