President John Dramani Mahama has given an inter agency task force two weeks to draw up measures to stop the trafficking of narcotic drugs through Ghana’s borders.
The task force is expected to review the country’s existing systems for detecting drug trafficking and submit a detailed roadmap to the President within the period.
The directive followed an urgent meeting between President Mahama and the country’s security chiefs on Thursday, September 17, 2026, to review investigations into recent narcotics trafficking cases involving Ghana’s ports.
A statement issued by the Presidency said the meeting reviewed existing security structures and systems and recommended additional measures to improve the detection and prevention of drug trafficking.
The directive comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of Ghana’s ports following the seizure of a nearly 3.9 tonne cocaine consignment by French customs at the port of Dunkirk on September 10, 2026.
The cocaine, estimated by the French authorities at about €225 million, was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana.
Part of the consignment was reportedly destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) subsequently arrested suspects in Ghana and began working with the French authorities to establish how the consignment allegedly left the country.
Four Ghanaian nationals have since been charged and remanded in connection with the consignment and are scheduled to reappear before the court on October 13.
Meanwhile, six people were denied bail by the Kwabenya Circuit Court on Thursday in connection with the alleged export of the cocaine consignment from Ghana to France.
Four of the six are officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and are facing charges relating to the scanning and clearance of containers at the Tema Port.
The prosecution told the court that four containers had been scanned before export and that the images showed abnormalities that should have prompted further examination.
The containers were nevertheless cleared and subsequently left Ghana, according to the prosecution.
The accused persons have been charged with conspiracy to export narcotic drugs, unlawful exportation of narcotic drugs and, in the case of the four GRA officials, abetment of the alleged exportation.
They were remanded until September 24, 2026, as investigations continue.
The six accused persons are Francis Narh Amanor, Frank Adu-Boahen, Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea and Helena Akua Denkyi.
In a separate development, the Presidency said 10 people, including four officers of the Customs Division of the GRA, were in custody as investigations into recent narcotics trafficking cases continued.
The latest development follows another major narcotics seizure in Ghana in August, when the police intercepted 866 parcels of a substance suspected to be cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse in the Tema Port enclave.
Three suspects were arrested in connection with that seizure.
The task force’s two week mandate is expected to result in a detailed roadmap for strengthening measures to detect and prevent the movement of narcotic drugs through Ghana’s borders.
