Climax TV
The Minority in Parliament has called for a full-scale independent parliamentary inquiry into what it describes as Ghana’s growing emergence as a transit hub for narcotics under the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
The Minority, in a statement signed by the Ranking Member on the Committee on Defence and Interior, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, said the country had featured repeatedly in major narcotics trafficking cases both locally and internationally over the past 18 months.
According to the Minority, the scale and frequency of the seizures raise serious questions about the security of Ghana’s ports, airports and territorial waters, as well as the effectiveness of investigations into major drug trafficking cases.
The statement cited several major seizures, including the interception of a tipper truck at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast on March 4, 2025, allegedly carrying more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine concealed beneath sand.
It said the consignment, reportedly travelling from Takoradi to Accra, had an estimated street value exceeding US$350 million.
The Minority also cited a separate seizure of about 120 slabs of cocaine, estimated at US$150 million, along the Takoradi-Cape Coast highway.
It further referenced the seizure by the Tema Regional Police Command on August 5, 2026, of 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave. The consignment was valued at approximately US$6.9 million.
The statement also raised concerns over two unresolved incidents, namely an aircraft that allegedly arrived at Kotoka International Airport from Gran Canaria around March 20, 2025, reportedly carrying narcotics and undeclared US currency, and the MV Sankofa case of July 2025.
The Minority said the vessel, which was allegedly sailing under a forged flag and was liable to a fine of almost GH¢12 million, was released by the Ghana Maritime Authority after payment of only a fraction of the amount and without a full inspection of its cargo.
It said the vessel was subsequently arrested in Senegal days later with narcotics on board.
The Minority also pointed to international seizures allegedly linked to Ghana, including the June 18, 2026 seizure by Australian customs authorities of 320kg of methamphetamine, valued at about US$261 million, concealed in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana.
It further cited a Reuters report that French customs officials at the port of Dunkirk on September 10, 2026 seized nearly 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine, valued at more than US$260 million, concealed in a container of plastic waste that had departed Ghana.
“Taken together, high-profile seizures linked to Ghana under this NDC administration now stand at well over US$1 billion in under two years,” the Minority claimed.
The Minority also questioned the progress of investigations and prosecutions arising from the seizures.
It said that more than a year after the Pedu Junction seizure, only the driver, a housemaid and a small number of peripheral suspects had been arraigned and remained on bail.
The Minority argued that the financiers and alleged high-level dealers behind the multimillion-dollar cocaine shipment remained unidentified and unpunished.
It described the situation as a pattern in which “couriers, drivers, mates, and freight-forwarding agents” are prosecuted while the alleged principal traffickers remain free.
The Minority said this raised questions about the seriousness, independence and reach of investigations into major narcotics cases.
It also criticised what it described as the silence of agencies responsible for combating drug trafficking.
“Ghana’s port authorities have offered no public account of the Dunkirk seizure. NACOC has been conspicuously quiet. The Ghana Maritime Authority has never explained the irregular discount and release granted to the MV Sankofa,” the statement said.
The Minority is demanding an independent parliamentary inquiry into the possible complicity, negligence or failure of oversight by institutions including the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Transport, Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service and the Bureau of National Investigations.
It wants the relevant sector ministers and heads of the agencies summoned before Parliament to account for the incidents.
Among other things, the Minority is demanding details on the status and outcome of investigations into all the seizures cited, including why prosecutions have allegedly focused on low-level suspects rather than financiers and principal traffickers.
It is also demanding an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the release of the MV Sankofa, including who authorised the reduced fine and the decision to allow the vessel to sail without a full cargo inspection.
The Minority further wants the government to outline concrete measures being implemented to protect Ghana’s ports, airports and territorial waters from exploitation by international drug trafficking networks.
“Ghana’s international reputation, and the safety of our young people from the scourge of narcotics, cannot be held hostage to official silence or political convenience,” the statement said.
The Minority said it would continue pursuing the matter until the circumstances surrounding the various incidents are established and persons found responsible are held accountable.
