President John Dramani Mahama has directed the formation of an inter-agency task force to develop a detailed roadmap to prevent narcotics trafficking through Ghana’s borders.
The directive followed an urgent meeting with security chiefs on Thursday, September 17, where the President received a briefing on recent drug trafficking cases involving Ghana’s ports.
The meeting also examined the security structures and systems currently in place to prevent narcotics from passing through the country.
According to the Presidency, the meeting “reviewed structure and security systems in place and recommended new actions.”
The task force has been given two weeks to submit a detailed roadmap outlining measures to strengthen Ghana’s response to narcotics trafficking.
“President Mahama directed that an inter-agency task force be formed to present a detailed roadmap, emanating from today’s meeting, on measures to prevent the trafficking of drugs through Ghana’s borders in two weeks,” the statement said.
The directive comes after a series of major narcotics cases linked to Ghana, including the seizure by French Customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine from a container that arrived from Ghana. The consignment, concealed in plastic waste, was valued at about €225 million.
Ghana has also been investigating the interception in Australia of about 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine allegedly shipped from Ghana.
The task force is expected to examine vulnerabilities in Ghana’s border-control systems, including cargo screening, intelligence-sharing and coordination among agencies, areas that were identified ahead of Thursday’s meeting as requiring attention.
The two-week deadline gives the task force a defined timeframe to present measures aimed at strengthening controls at Ghana’s ports, airports and land borders
