NACOC, Airports company refute allegations of illegal substances at KIA
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) have denied allegations that two aircraft that recently landed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra had illegal substances and cash on board.
The NACOC Deputy Director, Twum Barimah, in an interview, rejected the allegations, stating that a comprehensive search of the aircraft found no illicit substances.
Already, the GACL had described the allegations as “false, baseless and malicious” in a statement dated April 8, 2025.
It affirmed that all necessary checks by appropriate state agencies had been conducted.
Minority claims
The Ranking Member of Parliament's Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, made the claims at a news conference by the Minority Caucus at the Parliament House in Accra on April 1, 2025.
He alleged that two flights — AirMed flight N823AM, and Cavok Air private jet, Antonov An-12B, landed on the tarmac of KIA last month from Gran Canaria, an island in Spain, and later departed back to Gran Canaria.
Rev. Fordjour, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin South in the Central Region, called on the National Security to, as a matter of urgency, make public the content of cargo suspected to be cocaine and cash, transported into the country by the two suspicious flights.
The NPP also in a statement dated April 6, 2025, signed and issued by the party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, called on the government to provide a detailed update on the presence of two foreign aircraft that landed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) last month.
In addition, both Rev. Fordjour and the NPP also demanded updates on two separate cocaine seizures. One involved a $350 million cocaine bust in Cape Coast and the other a $150 million seizure in Sekondi.
NACOC
“We had prior intelligence, and a week before Reverend Fordjour made his claims, we had already searched the Antonov flight. We found nothing,” Mr Barimah clarified.
“His (Rev. Fordjour’s) claims are unfounded, and as a member of the committee that oversees NACOC, he should have come to us directly with any concerns instead of going to the media.”
“We are handling the investigations as directed by the President. If Rev. Fordjour has legitimate information, he should present it to the appropriate security agencies, not the media.
By doing so, he is only giving suspects a chance to flee,” Mr Barimah cautioned.
The NACOC Deputy Director also responded to the allegations regarding a cocaine bust valued at $350 million in March, which the MP claimed involved an NDC parliamentary candidate.
Mr Barimah denied the claims, stating that those arrested in connection with the bust were being prosecuted by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) and that there was no link to any political candidate.
GACL
The GACL explained that landing permits of all aircraft entering Ghana were issued by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in conjunction with the National Security and not GACL.
It further explained that security checks on the aircraft in question were conducted by Aviation Security and National Security, while Swissport handled the ground services.
The GACL noted that “there was no evidence of any illegal substances on board both aircraft.”
The statement went on to challenge those making the allegations to produce evidence.
“The onus is on the groups or individuals making false allegations to provide evidence of same,” it said.
