Recent cocaine busts: Ghana risks global shame if NACOC is not retooled – Prof. Aning

Security analyst Prof. Kwesi Aning has warned that Ghana should expect more major cocaine seizures if the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) is not properly retooled and made part of every check at the borders.

His concern follows renewed scrutiny of Ghana’s port security after a series of high-profile drug busts linked to consignments from Ghana, including the interception by French authorities of tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk in September, concealed in a container carrying plastic waste from Ghana and valued at about €225 million.

He noted that NACOC officers have specialist knowledge that could help identify trafficking techniques missed by other agencies.

Prof. Aning insisted that though President John Dramani Mahama directed that NACOC be immediately reinstated to the Joint Container Inspection regime, it is imperative to effectively retool the commission to track down culprits.

Prof. Aning added that the scale of recent seizures suggests trafficking syndicates have become entrenched.

He maintained that unless NACOC is given modern scanning tools, forensic labs, K9 units, intelligence infrastructure and adequate funding, Ghana must be ready for more cocaine busts in foreign ports linked back to Accra.

His concern centres on the 2018 port reforms, where the former Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia announced plans to reduce the number of agencies involved in joint physical inspections at Ghana’s ports from 16 to three, leaving Ghana Standards Authority, Food and Drugs Authority and Customs to do routine inspections.

In the reforms, NACOC and National Security were to be called in only on intelligence basis, without which these agencies had no role to play in the daily routine checks at the various ports of entry.

The 2018 reforms, however, have been confirmed by the former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul, who confirmed that NACOC personnel remained at the port but were no longer part of routine physical container inspections.

Prof Aning’s position aligns with warnings that without specialist narcotics expertise at the point of inspection, Ghana’s busiest port remains porous and has the potential to become a major transit hub for related drugs.