Catholic bishops demand swift national action on drug trafficking after 3.9-tonne cocaine find in France

Pinned summary · as of 06:44

The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference has urged the government and the wider public to respond quickly and jointly to drug trafficking, which it calls a deep moral crisis. Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference alleged that the statement came days after French officers found close to 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, allegedly packed inside a shipping container of plastic scrap that started its journey in Ghana. Other groups, including the Centre for Democratic Movement, have since demanded that officials explain how port controls failed.

What we know

• The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a statement dated 21 September asking for a fast, joined-up national response to drug trafficking and abuse, which it described as a serious concern for the country and a moral crisis rather than an ordinary crime problem.
• French authorities seized close to 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Dunkirk. According to the reports, the drugs were allegedly packed in a container of plastic scrap shipped from Ghana.
• The bishops said the seizure shows the need for closer monitoring and clearer responsibility at Ghana's seaports, airports and land borders, and asked for investigators to establish how such a large consignment left the country through ordinary commercial channels.
• They praised NACOC, the Narcotics Control Commission, along with other state bodies, asked Ghanaian authorities to keep working with their French counterparts to map the trafficking network, and welcomed the inter-agency task force that President John Dramani Mahama has formed to deal with drugs moving through the country's entry points.
• The bishops said the Dunkirk case is part of a wider national problem and pointed to earlier interceptions linked to Ghana. They also urged investigators to go after the financiers and principal organisers rather than stopping at couriers.
• The Conference voiced concern over the alleged role in the trade of individuals holding trusted posts, among them public officials and, according to Onua Online and Today News Ghana, Church members. It said public officials suspected of facilitating trafficking should be investigated whatever their rank.
• The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) also pressed for answers from security, customs, maritime and port officials over the string of narcotics seizures linked to Ghana, and asked Parliament to examine what went wrong.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Custodian reported, citing the bishops' statement, that the Dunkirk seizure took place on 10 September and was worth an estimated €225 million, with part of the load reportedly meant for Antwerp in Belgium. Onua Online and Today News Ghana did not give these details.
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  The Custodian reported that four Ghanaians, appeared in the Accra High Court on 16 September: Jessica Hartog, Kweku Otchere, Musah Attah and Desmond Koranteng Curiel. They face charges of exporting narcotics and of conspiring to do so unlicensed, and were remanded until 13 October. The charges are accusations by prosecutors and no verdict has been reported. The paper also reported that a fifth suspect, a Dutchman named as Jos Leijdekkers, has not been arrested.
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  The Custodian reported that more than 40 MPs signed a memorandum dated 18 September asking the Speaker to recall Parliament from recess. Under that memorandum, ministers and agency heads would be summoned to explain scanning and clearance at ports and airports. The bishops backed the proposal, according to the same report.
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  Figures attributed to the MPs' memorandum and to NACOC, as relayed by the bishops, are reported by only one independent publication. They put the value of high-profile seizures linked to Ghana over two years at more than US$1 billion, and credit NACOC with 217 arrests, 165 prosecutions and hauls of over 8.5 tonnes of assorted drugs plus 45.4 million tramadol pills.
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  The Custodian reported that the New Patriotic Party (NPP), through its National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye, called for Parliament to be recalled, for a public bipartisan committee to investigate, and for the removal of the heads of several port, maritime, intelligence, customs and police bodies. Mr Boakye accused the government of failing to secure ports, airports and borders; this accusation has not been answered in the reports.
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  Mr Boakye also raised questions about the arrest of a suspect named in the report as Musah Atta, citing reports of past ties to presidential security. Alexander Twum-Barimah, a NACOC deputy director-general, rejected the suggestion, saying early background checks had found nothing linking any detained suspect to the President's security detail.
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  Onua Online reported that the CDM questioned a 2018 reform that removed NACOC from routine physical container inspections and asked why security agencies allegedly did not warn the President about weaknesses at the ports. Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul was reported as saying NACOC stayed at the ports but was barred from physically inspecting containers.
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  The Custodian reported that the Christian Council of Ghana, after a visit from an NPP delegation on 24 September, called for a comprehensive national response and stressed that its engagement was non-partisan. It also reported that a CDM statement urged Parliament to hold hearings during a recall on 29 September.

Why it matters for Ghana

Ghana's ports and airports are the gateways for trade, and repeated seizures abroad put the country's shipping reputation and the checks on exporters under scrutiny. Families and church communities are being asked to take part in prevention work, particularly for young people who may be drawn into drug use or trafficking. The demand for Parliament to question ministers and agency heads means the public may soon hear how scanning and clearance work at Tema and other entry points.