Why Ghana dey become transit hub for cocaine and oda drug trafficking

Days afta French authorities bin gbab ogbonge cocaine shipment from Ghana, pipo don begin to chook mouth for wetin dem describe as serious wahala.

Customs for Thursday 10 September seize di almost 3.9 tonnes of cocaine wey dem hide inside one plastic waste container shipment from Ghana.

Di value of di shipment according to di authorities be $261m wey di initial destination for di goods be Antwerp for Belgium.

Di shipment dey connected to one Dutch fugitive wey im name be Jos Leijdekkers wey dey popular as "Bolle Jos".

Dutch authorities don describe "Bolle Jos" as di most-wanted fugitive, wey dem jail for 14 years for 25 June 2024 afta im smuggle more dan seven tonnes of cocaine.

French authorities don destroy di cocaine shipment wey dem begin investigation for di case, according to Reuters report.

Dis latest case don add to many oda cases of drug trafficking for di kontri ova di last two years.

Even as French authorities dey chook eye for di mata, Ghana authorities also bin dey under pressure to investigate dis mata to find di pipo behind di drug activities.

Groups and odas dey demand quick action and investigation

Many pipo don begin dey ask questions about di way individuals and oda groups dey traffic cocaine and oda drugs for di kontri.

Dem dey worry say Ghana dey become "transit hub for cocaine and oda hard drugs".

Oga for one civil society group - di Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building say di "scale and frequency of dis cases dey demand more arrest and seizures."

Adib Saani tok BBC Pidgin say, "di president gatz change di key officers wey dey responsible for di various stages of di security and cargo control chain", afta dis latest incident.

Im also say "di govment gatz do independent vulnerability assessment for di kontri cargo system, to find wia di loopholes dey so say dem fit fix am."

"Di investigations gatz target di financiers, pipo wey dey facilitate di movement of dis drugs, oda insiders wey dey compromised togeda wit di international criminal networks wey dey behind dis cocaine consignments," Adib Saani tok.

Im tok BBC Pidgin say "Ghana no fit afford to become logistics hub for transnational organised crime".

Di kontri main opposition, di New Patriotic Party (NPP), dey demand wetin dem call "independent parliamentary inquiry" for di recent cocaine seizures wey dey linked to di kontri.

According to dem, cocaine seizures wey dey linked to Ghana for di past year don dey valued at ova $1 billion.

Dem want make di leaders for di ministries and agencies wey dey responsible, to brief Parliament on di status of arrests, investigation, and oda tins wey dem put in place so say traffickers no go continue to use Ghana as dia transit route.

Inside one statement by di Ranking member for di Defence and interior committee for parliament, John Ntim Fordjour tok say ''di govment gatz ensure say dem no sacrifice di safety of young pipo and di kontri international reputation on di alter of political convenience".

Narcotics control commission gbab three suspects

Afta tori of di cocaine bust for France don scata on top social media, Ghana authorities announce say dem arrest some suspects.

Inside one statement, di Narcotics Control Commission (Nacoc) say dem arrest three pipo "wey allegedly bin dey represent and facilitate di activities of di Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers for Ghana".

"Di three suspects dey for Nacoc custody wey dem dey assist wit investigation to find dia alleged role for di trafficking."

Tok-tok pesin for Nacoc Francis Opoku Amoah tok say "we fit arrest more pipo as we continue dey tok wit our sources and oda partners for dis investigation sake of dis no be one pesin dey operate dis drug business".

Some pipo don tok say authorities only dey pursue di low-hanging fruits wey be di ordinary pipo wey dey move di drug around instead of di kingpins wey dey behind di trafficking business.

But di Narcotics Control Commission say "we go pursue anybodi weda big pesin or common pesin wey dey behind di drug trafficking business for dis kontri".

Timeline of some recent cocaine and drug busts

4 March 2025 – Authorities bin arrest one truck for Cape Coast wey bin dey carry ova 3.3 tonnes of cocaine wey dem hide under heap of sand. Di value for dat shipment be more dan $350m.

20 March 2025 – One aircraft wey bin dey allegedly carry narcotics wey dey valued at millions of dollars wey comot Gran Canaria for Spain, bin land for di Accra International Airport. Authorities say di aircraft bin land for Ghana for maintenance, but di opposition party disagree.

Govment at dat time ask di police and oda agencies to investigate di mata but dem no provide any update and report since dat time.

July 2025 – Senegal authorities gbab one vessel (MV Sankofa) afta Ghana authorities detain dem sake of documentation breaches.

Afta dem clear some of di penalty, authorities allegedly release dem witout full cargo inspection, na so dem chop arrest for Senegal days later say dem bin dey carry narcotics.

January 2026 – Tema police bin intercept 1,613 parcels of suspected narcotics wey bin dey transported from di Volta Region to Tema. Dem arrest two suspects for dat operation.

February 2026 – Di Narcotics Control Commission bin arrest one manufacturing manager wey attempt to smuggle cocaine out of di kontri. Dem hide di cocaine inside garri wey dem package.

Authorities no disclose di identity of di pesin wey dem no give any new update for dat case.

18 June 2026 – Authorities for Australia bin seize 320kg of methamphetamine wey bin get value of $260m inside charcoal consignment from Ghana.

10 September 2026 - French authorities seize 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine wit value of $260m wey comot di shores of Ghana. Dem bin hide di consignment inside plastic waste shipment.

6 August 2026 - Police for Tema intercept 866 parcels of cocaine wey dem bin hide inside garri from di Tema Harbour. Three pipo chop arrest for dat case. In fact, di police leadership later promote 25 policemen wey dey involved for dat operation to seize di consignment.

Pipo don dey bash di Narcotics Control Commission and oda security agencies say dem no give any update for dis plenty cases and weda dem fit prosecute di culprits by dis time.

Cabinet summon emergency meeting ova narcotics trafficking wahala

Di presidency don respond to dis latest cocaine bust wahala wit one emergency meeting.

President John Mahama go be di chairman for dat meeting wey go involve di heads of key state institutions and private terminal operators.

"Di meeting go review existing wahala, cargo and passenger screening systems and deployment of technology wey go fit detect and scata narcotics trafficking," di letter from di presidential secretary bin tok.

Dis meeting go involve ministers of finance and foreign affairs, di police CID, di Narcotics Control Commission and di operators of di airport terminals.

Di oda pipo be authorities for di customs division of di Ghana Revenue Authority, di Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Bureau of National Intelligence among odas.

Dat meeting go provide roadmap for di fight against narcotics trafficking.