By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Sept. 29, GNA – The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament has called for the establishment of an Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee to investigate a series of major international narcotics seizures allegedly linked to consignments originating from Ghana.
The Caucus said the proposed inquiry would help determine whether there were weaknesses in the country’s cargo inspection, export control and narcotics enforcement systems, and recommend measures to strengthen them.
Addressing journalists ahead of Parliament’s recalled Sitting on Tuesday, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, said recent international drug interdictions involving cargo traced to Ghana warranted thorough scrutiny.
He cited three major cases to support the call for a parliamentary investigation.
According to him, in March 2025, more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine, estimated to be worth over US$350 million, were intercepted at Pedu Junction near Cape Coast, allegedly concealed under sand in a tipper truck.
He also referred to the seizure by Australian authorities in June 2026 of approximately 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in containers declared as charcoal and traced to Ghana, with an estimated street value of A$296 million.
Rev. Fordjour further noted that in September 2026, French customs authorities at Dunkirk intercepted nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine hidden among recycled plastic in a container reportedly shipped from Ghana, with an estimated value of about €225 million.
He said the incidents underscored the need for a comprehensive review of cargo-scanning procedures, risk-profiling systems, inspection regimes and enforcement mechanisms at the country’s ports and borders.
“The circumstances surrounding these seizures require careful examination to ascertain whether existing systems are adequate to detect and prevent the trafficking of illicit substances,” he stated.
The Minority said the proposed committee would investigate the processes through which the consignments were assembled, inspected and cleared for export, while assessing the roles of relevant state institutions and private-sector actors.
It said the inquiry should also examine efforts to identify the organisers and financiers of such operations and determine whether proceeds from illicit narcotics activities were being effectively traced.
The Caucus emphasised that the proposed investigation should focus on institutional and systemic issues and should not interfere with matters currently before the courts.
It also called on government to provide comprehensive and verifiable data on narcotics seizures, arrests and prosecutions undertaken since January 2025 to enable Parliament and the public to better assess trends in narcotics-related offences.
Rev. Fordjour urged broad parliamentary support for the initiative, stressing that efforts to combat drug trafficking were a national responsibility that transcended partisan considerations.
Meanwhile, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has summoned the House to reconvene from recess for a one-day Sitting.
In a notice issued by the Office of the Speaker on September 24, 2026, Mr Bagbin invoked Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
Under the summons, Parliament is scheduled to sit on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 1200 hours at Parliament House in Accra.
Part of the notice reads: “Pursuant to Article 112(3) of the Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, I, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, hereby summon Parliament to sit on Tuesday, 29th September, 2026, at twelve noon at Parliament House, Accra.”
The recall follows a petition by the Minority Caucus requesting the Speaker to reconvene the House to consider what it described as urgent national security concerns arising from recent narcotics seizures linked to consignments from Ghana.
The request, signed by Mr Habib Iddrisu, First Deputy Minority Whip and NPP Member of Parliament for Tolon, cited Article 112(3) of the Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament’s Standing Orders.
According to the Minority, the reported seizures raise important questions regarding the security and integrity of Ghana’s ports, export systems, customs controls, intelligence-gathering processes and narcotics enforcement framework.
Parliament has been on recess in recent weeks, although it was earlier recalled from August 24 to August 28, 2026.
The Speaker’s action is in accordance with Article 112(3) of the Constitution, which empowers the Speaker to summon Parliament before its next scheduled Sitting when circumstances require.
GNA
Edited by Beatrice Asamani Savage