The Northern Regional Police command says the police had prepared charges against 'Rosewood Queen' Helena Huang and were waiting for the court to hand her over for prosecution.
The Chinese national violated Ghana’s laws regarding the falling of Rosewood by transporting trucks of rosewood lumbers. She was arrested in Tamale in May 2019 and charged with processing banned forestry products.
The person who stood surety for Helena Huang, Mohammed Bondirgbum, was thereafter arrested and granted a Ȼ3,000 bail on May 13, after he failed to produce her.
Helena Huang was declared missing some 48 hours after being granted a police Inquiry bail.
She was, however, re-arrested in June and deported by the Ghana Immigration Service.Â
Speaking on Starr FM, the crime officer of the Northern regional police, Supt. Otu Acheampong saidÂ
“The police had preferred charges against Helena for transporting lumber. The understanding we got from the court was that Helena had broken some immigration laws and therefore asked that she be handed over to the Immigration officials. It was the court that handed her over to the immigration service and we were hoping that she would be brought back for prosecution. Police did not release or discharge Helena Huang. “Â
Meanwhile the spokesperson of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Michael Amoako Atta said they only repatriated the Chinese national after she was discharged by a court in Tamale.
“Helena did not have any permit to operate in the kind of business she was engaged in. When we had information that Helena has been discharged by the court in Tamale, that was when we took action. We had to wait for that process to end before coming in. From our legal department, Helena Huang was discharged in Tamale.''
A notice signed by the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr Kwame Esuah Takyi, informing Huang of the decision read:†You are hereby informed that your permit to remain in Ghana has been revoked. Therefore, your continuous presence in Ghana is unlawful.â€
 In a statement released released in Accra on Tuesday, and signed by the Head of Public Affairs at the GIS, Mr Michael Amoako-Atta, confirming the release of the 'rosewood queen ' Helen Huang said the GIS had also informed the relevant institutions, including the Minister of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration as well as missions abroad to refuse her visa to facilitate her entry into the country in future.
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