President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the formation of an inter-agency task force to produce a two-week roadmap for preventing narcotics trafficking through Ghana’s borders, following fresh investigations that have placed 10 people, including four Customs officers, in custody.
The directive was issued on Thursday, September 17, after President Mahama met security chiefs for an urgent briefing on recent cases involving the movement of narcotics through Ghana’s ports.
The Presidency said the meeting reviewed ongoing investigations and examined the existing security structures and systems responsible for preventing narcotics trafficking through the country’s borders.
The 10 people being held include four officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), although the Presidency has not disclosed their identities or indicated whether charges have been filed against them.
Investigations into the cases are continuing.
President Mahama has subsequently directed the new inter-agency task force to translate the findings and recommendations from the security meeting into a detailed roadmap within two weeks.
The roadmap is expected to outline measures to strengthen Ghana’s systems for detecting and preventing the movement of narcotics through the country’s borders.
The development comes as Ghana faces renewed scrutiny over the effectiveness of its port and border security systems following recent international drug seizures involving consignments linked to Ghana.
The latest security meeting therefore focused not only on the investigations but also on identifying weaknesses in the systems currently used to prevent narcotics trafficking.
The Presidency said the meeting reviewed the structures and security arrangements in place and recommended additional measures to strengthen Ghana’s response.
The task force is expected to bring together relevant state institutions involved in border management, customs operations, intelligence, maritime security and narcotics control to develop the proposed roadmap.
The measures are expected to strengthen coordination and improve the country’s ability to detect and disrupt the movement of narcotics through its borders.
The latest development follows a high-level meeting convened earlier this week to examine vulnerabilities in Ghana’s border-control systems and consider measures to improve intelligence sharing, cargo and passenger screening, surveillance and the use of technology.
The renewed focus on Ghana’s ports follows recent international investigations into major drug consignments associated with the country.
One of the cases involved the seizure by French Customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the northern port of Dunkirk on September 10. The cocaine was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana, according to reports.
The French seizure, valued at about €225 million, has triggered investigations in both France and Ghana into how the consignment moved through the respective security and port systems.
The involvement of Customs officers in the latest Ghanaian investigations has also brought greater attention to the effectiveness of controls within the country’s ports and border-management structures.
However, the Presidency has not disclosed details of the allegations against the four Customs officers, and investigations remain ongoing.
President Mahama’s two-week deadline now puts the task force under pressure to identify specific vulnerabilities and propose measures that can be implemented to prevent Ghana’s borders from being exploited for narcotics trafficking.
The Presidency said further details on the roadmap and actions arising from the meeting would be communicated in due course.
