President John Mahama has directed the formation of an inter-agency task force to develop a detailed roadmap on measures to prevent the trafficking of drugs through Ghana’s borders.
The task force has been given two weeks to present the roadmap, which will be based on recommendations from an urgent meeting chaired by the President with security chiefs and Ministers at the Jubilee House.
The President was briefed that ten individuals, including four officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, are currently being held as investigations continue.
The meeting also recommended new actions to strengthen the country’s systems for preventing narcotics trafficking.
President John Dramani Mahama
The meeting follows the seizure by French customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, valued at about €225 million, at the northern port of Dunkirk on September 10. The cocaine was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana, with part of the shipment reportedly destined for Antwerp, Belgium. French authorities have opened an investigation into the consignment and the criminal network allegedly behind it, while Ghanaian authorities have also begun investigations into how the shipment left the country. Four suspects were remanded into police custody this week.
Source: Emmanuel Tetteh
