This isn’t the first cocaine bust; we must stop the politicisation – NACOC deputy boss

The Deputy Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Alexander Twum-Barimah, has cautioned against the politicisation of the recent cocaine seizures elsewhere linked to Ghana.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he said this was not the first time authorities had intercepted cocaine or other illicit drugs at the country’s exit or entry points.

“For us as a country, this has not been the very first time we have seen this. We have a large number of cases on narcortics,” he noted.

Mr Twum-Barimah said Ghana had recorded numerous drug seizures in the past and cautioned against treating the latest case as a partisan issue.

“In 2018, 56 kilogrammes of cocaine were intercepted in Ghana; here, in 2019, the same. 2020, 3rd September, at the airport, we had someone bringing in an amount of heroin from Kenya,” he noted.

The remarks follow the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French customs at the port of Dunkirk.

The drugs were reportedly concealed in a container of plastic waste shipped from Ghana. Six people have appeared before a court in Accra in connection with the case.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for the removal of heads of state agencies responsible for port security, customs and narcotics control, arguing that the shipment raises serious questions about how drugs could leave Ghana undetected.

Also read:

• Majority blames drug trafficking crisis on NACOC’s under-resourcing

• ‘I suspect sabotage’ – Mustapha Gbande on Ghana-linked drug seizures