Four Ghanaians remanded over nearly four tonnes of cocaine seized in France

Pinned summary · as of 16:27

An Accra High Court has kept four Ghanaians in custody while they face charges over an alleged scheme to ship almost four tonnes of cocaine out of Ghana bound for France. French customs found the drugs at the port of Dunkirk, packed in a container that had come from Ghana. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) says the hunt for others involved is still going.

What we know

• At the port of Dunkirk, French customs officers found almost 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container of plastic waste that had travelled from Ghana. Part of the load was reportedly headed on to Antwerp in Belgium.
• The haul was valued at about €225 million, a sum that prosecutors in Ghana put at roughly US$260 million when they briefed the court.
• Desmond Koranteng Curiel, Musah Attah, Kweku Otchere and Jessica Hartog appeared before an Accra High Court on Wednesday, 16 September, and were sent to custody. Prosecutors charged them with conspiracy to commit a crime and with exporting narcotic drugs.
• Kumasi Mail, The Press Radio and Ghanaian News (Canada) each report that the four pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say the four gave statements to investigators denying any part in the shipment, and none has been convicted.
• The four are due back in court on 13 October 2026.
• A fifth suspect, Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, who goes by "Bolle Jos", is described as being at large.
• NACOC alleged that its suspects represented or helped run the Ghana-based activities of Mr Leijdekkers' network. It also said intelligence showed he had not himself come to Ghana and is believed to be in Sierra Leone.
• Prosecutors told the court that searches during the inquiry turned up three guns, ammunition, four cars, passports and sums of money.
• NACOC says the investigation is ongoing and that it is working with French authorities to trace how the cargo left Ghana. Its acting public affairs director, Francis Opoku Amoah, told the public to brace for further arrests.
• The Netherlands sentenced Mr Leijdekkers in his absence to 24 years in prison in an earlier drugs case, and Dutch authorities believe he is hiding in Sierra Leone.
• In a second case, six people appeared before the Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra on 17 September and were remanded after bail was refused. The case was adjourned to 24 September. Four of the six are linked to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the group is accused of conspiring to export drugs without a valid licence.
• Prosecutors in that case allege that scans of the containers at Tema Port showed irregularities yet the shipment was let through, and that GRA officer Frank Adu-Boahen shared his login details so others could review scan images assigned to him. The four GRA-linked accused also face a charge of abetment.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Reports differ on how long the four were remanded. Four weeks is the period given by Rainbow Radio Online, The Press Radio, The Custodian and Onua Online, while Kumasi Mail says two weeks.
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  Ghanaian News (Canada) dates the High Court hearing to 17 September, a day later than the other accounts.
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  The date of the seizure is given as 10 September by most reports, but Onua Online says French customs stopped the container on 7 September.
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  Reports differ on the load. Kumasi Mail, The Custodian and Onua Online describe a single 40-foot container, while Rainbow Radio Online cites four such containers. Onua Online adds that it held 167 bales.
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  Rainbow Radio Online reported that unnamed Ghanaian security officials believe the four defendants managed local logistics for Mr Leijdekkers' syndicate; no other report backs this, and the officials are not named.
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  Rainbow Radio Online cited investigators who name Mr Adu-Boahen as the true owner of the consignment, and court papers in which he is said to have admitted packing the cargo with help from Francis Narh Amanor. Mr Amanor, who runs Fresna Commodities Ltd, reportedly said he thought the containers held recycled plastic flakes. The Press Radio reported the Bureau of National Investigation as saying he told investigators the goods were declared as ordinary commercial cargo. None of this has been tested in court.
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  Ghanaian News (Canada) reported that the Minority in Parliament wants Parliament recalled to examine how the container was processed and cleared, and that President John Dramani Mahama ordered an inter-agency task force to report within two weeks on stopping drug trafficking through Ghana's borders. Neither point has been confirmed elsewhere.
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  Ghanaian News (Canada) reported that the seized cocaine has reportedly been destroyed; no other report says so.
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  An Onua Online columnist wrote that a circulating news card linked two NPP figures to the shipment. New Juaben South MP Michael Okyere Baafi dismissed the card as fake, and the columnist noted that no French, Dutch or Ghanaian authority has tied him to the case.
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  Ghanaian News (Canada) quotes an NACOC official as saying some suspects had been watched for between one and two years, whereas Onua Online reports only that they had been monitored for some time.

Why it matters for Ghana

The case puts Ghana's ports and border checks under a harsh light, because the second set of charges concerns how containers were scanned and released at Tema. Importers, freight forwarders and port workers could face closer inspection if the state tightens controls. It also bears on Ghana's standing with European partners, since French and Dutch investigators are working alongside NACOC.