A group of Minority Members of Parliament, led by First Deputy Minority Whip Habib Iddrisu, has formally petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to summon an extraordinary sitting of the House to address what they describe as urgent national security concerns arising from major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.
In a memorandum dated September 18, 2026, and signed by more than 48 MPs, the lawmakers invoked Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
The provision requires the Speaker to summon Parliament within seven days of receiving a request from at least 15 percent of its members.
The immediate trigger for the request is the recent seizure by French customs officers at the Port of Dunkirk of nearly 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine, valued at more than US$260 million. The consignment was reportedly concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had departed Ghana.
The MPs argue that the scale of the interception raises serious questions about the security and integrity of Ghana’s ports, customs controls, intelligence systems and narcotics enforcement mechanisms.
The memorandum also catalogues a series of high-profile drug-related incidents since 2025 which, according to the signatories, bring the total value of major seizures linked to Ghana under the current administration to well over US$1 billion in less than two years.
These include:
- The March 4, 2025 interception by the National Intelligence Bureau of more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine concealed under sand in a tipper truck at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast, with an estimated street value exceeding US$350 million.
- The seizure of a second consignment containing approximately 120 slabs of cocaine, valued at about US$150 million, along the Takoradi–Cape Coast highway around the same period.
- The August 5, 2026 seizure of 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse in the Tema Harbour enclave, with an estimated value of US$6.9 million.
- An unresolved case involving an aircraft that allegedly transported narcotics and undeclared US currency from Gran Canaria before landing at Kotoka International Airport around March 20, 2025.
- The case of the MV Sankofa, which was released by the Ghana Maritime Authority after paying only a fraction of a nearly GH¢12 million fine and was later arrested in Senegal while carrying narcotics.
- The June 18, 2026 seizure by Australian authorities of 320kg of methamphetamine valued at US$261 million, concealed in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana.
The MPs expressed particular concern that, more than a year after the Pedu Junction seizure, only the driver, a housemaid and a handful of peripheral suspects have been arraigned and remain on bail, while the financiers and principal organisers of the alleged US$350 million shipment remain unidentified.
The lawmakers are therefore calling for a parliamentary inquiry or investigation involving key institutions, including the Ministers responsible for the Interior, Transport and National Security; the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC); the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority; the Ghana Revenue Authority; the Ghana Immigration Service; the National Intelligence Bureau; and other relevant agencies.
Among the specific issues they want Parliament to examine are the circumstances under which the Dunkirk-bound container was processed and exported from Ghana, the inspection and scanning procedures at the relevant port, the identities and roles of the companies involved, the progress of investigations and arrests, the level of cooperation with French and other international authorities, and the adequacy of security and surveillance systems at Ghana’s points of entry and exit.
The memorandum emphasises that the request is not intended to prejudge any individual or interfere with ongoing criminal investigations. Rather, the MPs say it is aimed at enabling Parliament to discharge its constitutional oversight responsibilities and protect the national interest.
“International narcotics trafficking constitutes a serious threat to national security, public safety, Ghana’s international standing and the integrity of our financial, maritime and border-security systems,” the MPs stated.
The Speaker is constitutionally required to act on the request within seven days.
