The Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building has warned that Ghana risks becoming a logistics hub for transnational organised crime following a series of large-scale narcotics consignments linked to the country.
The Centre said the frequency and scale of recent narcotics cases required more than arrests and seizures, arguing that they raised questions about the effectiveness of Ghana’s intelligence, border-control and port-security systems.
In a statement dated September 15, 2026, the Centre welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to convene security, intelligence, narcotics-control, customs, port and other relevant stakeholders to examine the emerging threat.
However, it questioned why the pattern of major international narcotics seizures had not triggered earlier intervention from the country’s national security coordination architecture.
“The National Security Coordinator, in particular, should have anticipated the threat rather than responding after multiple major international seizures,” the Centre said.
As an immediate confidence-building measure, the Jatikay Centre called on the President to consider changing key officers responsible for different stages of the security and cargo-control chain.
It also called for an independent vulnerability assessment of the relevant systems to identify weaknesses and strengthen public confidence.
The Centre stressed that the call for changes should not be interpreted as an allegation of wrongdoing against any individual, but said fresh leadership may be necessary where serious institutional vulnerabilities have emerged.
It further urged authorities to widen investigations beyond couriers and identify the financiers, facilitators, compromised insiders and international criminal networks behind the consignments.
“This is no longer simply a narcotics-control issue. It is a national security and institutional integrity challenge,” the Centre said.
It warned that Ghana could not afford to become a logistics hub for transnational organised crime.
The statement was signed by Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building.
