By Adams Kodjo, GNA
Accra, Sept. 22, GNA – The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has called for an urgent and coordinated national response to the growing narcotics threat in the country.
The Conference said the country’s drug problem had become a serious national concern and a moral crisis requiring more than routine criminal enforcement.
This was in a statement signed by Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, President of the GCBC, on Monday, September 21, 2026, and issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The Conference said the recent seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in France, concealed in a container of plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana, should prompt deeper investigations into how such consignments were able to move through legitimate commercial channels.
The cocaine, intercepted by French customs authorities at Dunkirk on September 10 and estimated to have a street value of €225 million, was reportedly partly destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
Four Ghanaians have since been arraigned before the High Court in Accra in connection with the case, while a fifth accused, Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, is reported to be at large.
The statement stressed that the accused persons remained presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Conference urged investigators to establish the full extent of the network behind the shipment and commended the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and other agencies for their efforts.
It also welcomed the formation of an inter-agency task force to address narcotics trafficking through Ghana’s ports, airports, and borders.
According to the Bishops, the Dunkirk seizure is part of a broader pattern of narcotics incidents linked to Ghana.
They cited several seizures and alleged trafficking incidents dating back to March 2025, including cocaine concealed under sand in a tipper truck, suspected cocaine found in sacks of gari at Tema Harbour, and methamphetamine concealed in a charcoal shipment intercepted by Australian authorities.
The Conference said figures cited by more than 40 Members of Parliament in a September 18 memorandum indicate that high-profile seizures linked to Ghana over the past two years have exceeded US$1 billion in value.
It also cited NACOC figures showing 217 arrests, 165 prosecutions, more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs, and 45.4 million tramadol tablets intercepted during the period under review.
A major concern raised by the Bishops Conference was whether law-enforcement efforts are reaching the organisers and financiers of the trade.
The statement pointed to the Pedu Junction cocaine seizure and said that, more than a year after the incident, only a driver, a housemaid, and a few peripheral suspects had been arraigned, while the alleged financiers and principal traffickers remained unidentified.
The Bishops said a system in which couriers were prosecuted while the wider networks financing and organising trafficking escaped scrutiny would be inadequate and called for investigations to “follow the money” by identifying the businesses and financial arrangements sustaining the trade.
The Conference also expressed concern about possible involvement of public officials.
It cited a March 2026 report by the Ghana Revenue Authority on the arrest of nine public officers over a large consignment of undeclared tramadol at Tema Port, including personnel from Customs, NACOC, and other public institutions.
The Bishops’ Conference called for stronger prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programmes, saying people struggling with addiction should receive medical, psychological, social, and spiritual support rather than being treated solely as criminals.
The Conference urged the government to strengthen cooperation among the Police Service, NACOC, Customs, port authorities, the judiciary, and schools while improving detection capacity at ports, airports, and borders.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Kodjo Adams
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