He has therefore been remanded into police custody when he appeared in court on Monday.
Mr. McDermott, described by some as Britain’s most wanted cocaine fugitive was arrested in Accra on Friday March 11, 2016.
He is suspected to be a member of an organised crime syndicate from Liverpool, and has been on the run for three-years for his connection to a smuggling plot to import £71 million worth of cocaine into the UK.
The 42-year-old is married to Ramona Wampah, the step daughter of the governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah and they have a child together.
The prosecution said, the accused relocated to Ghana to establish a family to avoid detection by his home security.
ASP A. A. Annor told the court, the searchlight on the accused was brought to the attention of the Ghana police service in 2014.
He said, through a collaborative effort between the Ghanaian police and their British counterparts, the accused was arrested at his residence behind the Trade Fair at La.
According to the prosecutor, preliminary police investigation revealed the accused owned a Ghanaian passport with which he travel to and from the country.
ASP Annor said the fugitive dropped his official name from the Ghanaian passport using only David Smith.
Meanwhile, David McDermott Smith pleaded not guilty to a count of dealing in prohibited business to wit drug trafficking in court today.
But the prosecutor told the court investigations are ongoing to establish how the accused acquired the Ghanaian passport.
The presiding judge, Aboagye Tanor therefore adjourned proceedings to Wednesday March 30.
David McDermott is the second UK national to be arrested in Ghana this year. Arthur Simpson-Kent, a 48-year-old British accused of murdering his girlfriend and his two children was extradited to the UK in February.
Source: 3news.com| Ghana