NPP and Interior Ministry trade claims over Ghana's role in drug trafficking

Pinned summary · as of 06:54

A political row over Ghana's place in the international drug trade has widened this week after the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Ministry of the Interior gave opposing accounts of who bears responsibility. The exchange follows a rise in public debate about recent drug seizures linked to the country.

What we know

• The NPP and the Ministry of the Interior have each publicly made their case on Ghana's role as a route for illicit drugs, with the party pointing at the present government and the ministry pointing at the previous NPP administration, according to Rainbow Radio Online and The Press Radio.
• Public argument over drug trafficking and the latest seizures in Ghana has grown sharper in recent days.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Henry Nana Boakye, the NPP National Organiser, said at a press briefing on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that Ghana has become a major transit point for narcotics under President John Mahama's government. He put this down to the involvement of officials at the ports and airports. Rainbow Radio Online reported the claims, and the government has not accepted them.
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  Mr Boakye further alleged that traffickers have set up bases and laboratories in Ghana to process drugs, that officials directly help networks send processed substances abroad, and that authorities are ignoring the trade. He said the party's intelligence supports this. No evidence was cited in the report, and it has not been confirmed elsewhere.
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  Mr Boakye also said substances traced back to Ghana keep being found on vessels and in travellers' bags in Sydney, Dunkirk and Johannesburg.
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  Julius Kwame Anthony, Press Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, said on TV3's New Day that US government reports covering 2022 and 2024 named Ghana as a drug transit point when the NPP was in power. He said a 2025 State Department review of 2024 labelled Ghana a key transit route for heroin and cocaine shipments heading to Europe, the US and elsewhere in Africa, and that the 2022 report called it both a transit and a destination point. The Press Radio carried his account; the reports themselves were not reviewed.
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  Mr Anthony argued that the drug problem should be handled as a national security matter and not as a contest between the National Democratic Congress and the NPP. He said the government was ready to talk to the opposition about tackling the trade, and that he was willing to release the documents he cited for public inspection.
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  Mr Anthony questioned what a 2018 directive meant for detection at the ports, saying it took the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) out of routine port inspections. He said the focus should be on stronger institutions and better coordination between the agencies responsible. The NPP's response to this point has not been reported.

Why it matters for Ghana

Ghana's ports and airports, including Tema and Kotoka in Accra, carry the country's trade, so claims that they are being used to move narcotics bear on the reputation of legitimate exporters and importers. Any weakness in inspections affects businesses that depend on smooth clearance, and the row shows that the two main parties disagree sharply on how the problem should be tackled. The ministry says it is open to talks with the opposition, which would matter for any cross-party approach.