Drug bust: Under no circumstances will NACOC leadership be compromised – Twum-Barimah

The Deputy Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Alexander Twum-Barimah, has strongly rejected allegations that the leadership of the Commission could be compromised in the movement of narcotics out of Ghana.

According to him, NACOC remains committed to protecting the country’s image and will not allow its leadership to be compromised in the fight against narcotics trafficking.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 26, Mr Twum-Barimah said the Commission would continue to carry out its mandate despite allegations levelled against its officials.

“Under no circumstances will the leadership of the Narcotics Control Commission be ever compromised. It will never happen,” he said.

His comments followed allegations by Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, who has raised concerns about the handling of narcotics trafficking cases involving Ghana.

Mr Twum-Barimah rejected what he described as false allegations made against him and NACOC, insisting that he was present at the airport when security agencies examined an aircraft that was later referenced by the legislator.

“Ntim Fordjour made this blatant allegation on the 7th of April 2025. On the 16th of March 2025, I was at the airport together with other security agencies that did an examination on the aircraft, and it was negative,” he said.

He questioned the basis for subsequent claims about the aircraft and accused the MP of repeatedly presenting what he described as false information.

Mr Twum-Barimah also denied allegations that he had colluded with individuals to facilitate the movement of drugs out of the country.

“And you will hear him attacking me personally, that I have colluded with the people to get these drugs out of town. What evidence do you have?” he asked.

He further disputed a claim that 73 parcels of cocaine had left Ghana for the Netherlands, insisting that the parcels were intercepted in Ghana.

“Now he mentioned that 73 parcels of cocaine left this country for the Netherlands. It’s also false. It is false. That 73 parcels of cocaine were arrested here. It was never arrested in the Netherlands,” he said.

The NACOC Deputy Director-General urged those commenting on ongoing narcotics investigations to ensure that the information they provide is accurate.

“Don’t be saying things that you don’t have information about. It’s not right,” he said.

Mr Twum-Barimah maintained that NACOC and other state agencies were taking steps to deal with the narcotics cases and that individuals identified in connection with the investigations were being subjected to judicial and investigative processes.

“As agencies of the country, we’ve taken steps. Individuals that we knew or we picked are going through the various judicial and investigative processes. We will get to the end of this matter,” he said.

He also criticised the practice of targeting individuals over a broader national narcotics issue, saying the existence of a major drug-related case does not automatically mean officials within the responsible agencies should be personally attacked.

“But the fact that something has happened, and we are dealing with it at a national level, doesn’t mean that you should go about attacking individuals. It is wrong,” he said.

Mr Twum-Barimah said NACOC would continue working with other state agencies to address the matter and protect the integrity of the country’s narcotics-control system.