NACOC strengthens ties with Ivorian counterparts to combat illicit drug trafficking

The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has engaged border security authorities in Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen cross-border cooperation and intensify efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking along the Elubo–Noé border.

The engagement forms part of the Commission’s strategic measures to curb drug trafficking and related criminal activities along the Ghanaian border.

During a working visit to the Elubo Border on Wednesday, October 21, NACOC Director-General, Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, called for closer collaboration and a strong working relationship between the security agencies of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to address the threat.

NACOC’s Deputy Director-General, accompanied Maj Gen Obuba Mantey, the Director-General, and Lawyer Alexander Twum-Barimah, who is in charge of Enforcement, Control and Elimination, along with other members of the Commission’s management team.

He appealed to the Ivorian border security authorities to sustain their cooperation with their Ghanaian counterparts in pursuit of the shared goal of suppressing illicit drug trafficking and related activities.

The Director-General also assured the Ivorian authorities that NACOC and other state security agencies operating under the Elubo Border Security Committee (BORSEC) would continue to uphold the professional and ethical standards governing their work.

“We appreciate the existing working relationship among both BORSEC authorities. For NACOC, we are committed to ensuring that the drug trafficking network is curtailed,” he said.

Maj Gen Obuba Mantey stressed the importance of maintaining effective cooperation between the two countries, noting that coordinated efforts among border security agencies were essential to tackling cross-border drug trafficking.

In response, the Commissioner of Customs at the Ivorian Border Post, Avon Tah Felix, commended the NACOC delegation for the visit, describing the engagement as an opportunity to build and maintain a constructive working relationship between the two countries.

He assured the delegation that the Ivorian border authorities would continue to provide support in various ways to protect the interests of both countries.