By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
Accra, Sept. 14, GNA — The New Patriotic Party Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress government of allegedly presiding over Ghana’s descent into a narcotics transit hub.
As a result, the Caucus is demanding a full-scale independent parliamentary inquiry into alleged drug seizures linked to Ghana valued at over $1 billion in under two years.
A press statement signed by Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Ranking Member on Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament and issued to the Ghana News Agency on Monday said, “The frequency and scale of seizures at home and abroad, coupled with official silence, should be of grave concern to all Ghanaians.
The statement listed both local and foreign seizures to back its claim.
On local seizures, it was cited on 4th March 2025, the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) alleged interception of a tipper truck at Pedu Junction, Cape Coast, carrying over 3.3 tonnes of cocaine concealed under sand, enroute from Takoradi to Accra, valued at over $350 million.
“A second consignment of about 120 slabs of cocaine valued at $150 million intercepted along the Takoradi-Cape Coast highway within the same period.
“On August 5, 2026, the Tema Regional Police seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave, valued at $6.9 million,” it said.
It also flagged two unresolved incidents: the alleged landing at Kotoka International Airport around March 20, 2025, of aircraft alleged to be carrying narcotics and undeclared United States currency from Gran Canaria; and the MV Sankofa affair of July 2025, where a vessel sailing under a forged flag, liable to a fine of almost GH¢12 million, was released by the Ghana Maritime Authority after paying only a fraction, without full cargo inspection, only to be arrested days later in Senegal carrying narcotics.
On foreign seizures linked to Ghana, the statement cited that on June 18, 2026, the alleged seizure by Australian customs of 320 kg of methamphetamine valued at $261 million concealed in a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana.
“On September 10, 2026, Reuters reported that French customs at Dunkirk seized nearly 3.9 metric tons of cocaine valued at over $260 million concealed in a container of plastic waste that had departed Ghana.
“Taken together, high-profile seizures linked to Ghana under this NDC administration now stand at well over US$1 billion in under two years,” the statement said.
It noted that international drug enforcement agencies estimate that only one in ten consignments is ever intercepted, urging Ghanaians to draw their own conclusions about volumes that may be moving undetected through Ghana’s ports, airports, and waters.
The statement also questioned the state of prosecutions after seizures, saying only low-level actors have been put before court.
“In the Pedu Junction matter, more than a year after the $350m seizure, it said only the driver, a housemaid, and a handful of peripheral suspects have been arraigned and remain on bail, while financiers and high-profile dealers remain unidentified.
“This pattern in which couriers, drivers, mates, and freight-forwarding agents are paraded before the courts while the true owners of these consignments walk free raises serious questions about the seriousness, independence, and reach of investigations under this government,” it said.
It therefore demanded an independent parliamentary inquiry into possible alleged complicity, negligence, or failure of oversight on the part of the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Transport, Narcotics Control Commission, (NACOC) leadership, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service, and the Bureau of National Investigations.
As part of that inquiry, it wants sector ministers and heads of agencies summoned to Parliament to account for the status and outcome of investigations into every seizure listed, including why prosecutions have targeted only low-level couriers; the circumstances surrounding the release of the MV Sankofa.
This included who authorised the reduced fine and release without full inspection and concrete measures being taken to secure Ghana’s ports, airports, and territorial waters against exploitation by cartels; and the status of the MV Sankofa, including who authorised the reduced fine and release without full inspection and concrete measures being taken to secure Ghana’s ports, airports, and territorial waters against exploitation by cartels.
The Minority lamented what it called alleged silence from port authorities on the Dunkirk seizure, NACOC’s conspicuous quiet, and the Ghana Maritime Authority’s failure to explain the MV Sankofa discount.
“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 Minority will not relent until the truth is known,” it quoted Rev. Fordjour as saying.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
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