The Minority in Parliament has called for a full-scale, independent parliamentary inquiry into what it describes as Ghana’s descent into a narcotics transit hub under the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
The Minority said the country had repeatedly featured in major narcotics trafficking cases in Ghana and abroad over the past eighteen months, with the value of seized consignments linked to the country exceeding US$1 billion.
In a press statement signed by the Ranking Member of the Committee on Defence and Interior, Hon. Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, the Minority demanded accountability from the government and agencies responsible for combating drug trafficking.
Local cocaine seizures
The statement cited several major narcotics seizures, beginning with the interception of a tipper truck at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast on March 4, 2025.
According to the Minority, the National Intelligence Bureau intercepted the vehicle carrying more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine concealed beneath sand while travelling from Takoradi to Accra.
The consignment was estimated to have a street value exceeding US$350 million.
The Minority also cited the interception of a second consignment of approximately 120 slabs of cocaine, valued at about US$150 million, along the Takoradi–Cape Coast highway.
On August 5, 2026, the Tema Regional Police Command reportedly seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave. The value of the consignment was estimated at US$6.9 million.
Foreign seizures linked to Ghana
The Minority further raised concerns about narcotics consignments allegedly linked to Ghana that were intercepted by foreign authorities.
It said Australian customs authorities seized 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine on June 18, 2026, concealed in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana. The drugs were valued at approximately US$261 million.
The statement also referred to a Reuters report dated September 10, 2026, which said French customs officers at the port of Dunkirk had seized nearly 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine valued at more than US$260 million.
The cocaine was allegedly concealed in a container of plastic waste that had departed Ghana.
The Minority said the incidents raised serious questions about the security of Ghana’s ports, airports and territorial waters.
Concerns over unresolved cases
Beyond the seizures, the Minority expressed concern about what it described as unresolved cases involving alleged narcotics trafficking.
It cited the landing of an aircraft at Kotoka International Airport on or around March 20, 2025, which was alleged to have been carrying narcotics and undeclared US currency from Gran Canaria.
The statement also raised questions about the MV Sankofa affair in July 2025.
According to the Minority, the vessel was found sailing under a forged flag and was liable to a fine of almost GH¢12 million. It alleged that the Ghana Maritime Authority released the vessel after payment of only a fraction of the fine, without a full inspection of its cargo.
The vessel was subsequently arrested in Senegal days later carrying narcotics, the statement claimed.
The Minority demanded an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the vessel’s release, including who authorised the reduced fine and the decision to allow it to sail without a full cargo inspection.
Calls for accountability
The Minority criticised the progress of investigations into the Pedu Junction seizure, arguing that more than a year after the interception, only the driver, a housemaid and a small number of peripheral suspects had been arraigned and remained on bail.
It questioned why the alleged financiers and principal traffickers behind the US$350 million cocaine shipment had not been identified and prosecuted.
The Minority said the situation raised questions about the seriousness, independence and reach of investigations under the government.
It also accused the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and the Ghana Maritime Authority of failing to provide adequate public explanations concerning the reported seizures and incidents.
Parliamentary inquiry demanded
The Minority is demanding a full-scale, independent parliamentary inquiry into possible complicity, negligence or failures of oversight involving the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Transport, NACOC leadership, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service and the Bureau of National Investigations.
It wants the sector ministers and heads of the relevant agencies summoned before Parliament to account for the status and outcome of investigations into all the cited seizures.
The inquiry, it said, must also examine why prosecutions have allegedly focused on low-level couriers rather than the financiers and principal traffickers behind the consignments.
The Minority further demanded details of measures being implemented to secure Ghana’s ports, airports and territorial waters against exploitation by international drug cartels.
“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 to pursue the matter until the truth was established and those found responsible were held accountable.
