The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for nine officials linked to Ghana’s port and security operations to step aside following the interception of a cocaine shipment in France.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye said the officials should make way for independent investigations into how the consignment passed through Ghana without being detected.
He questioned how a large shipment of cocaine could leave Ghana without triggering the country’s detection and security systems.
“If you fail to identify the cocaine, why should the country rely on you to be the one investigating and bringing out a report?” he asked.
Mr Aboagye said the circumstances surrounding the shipment could point to weaknesses in intelligence gathering, container profiling, customs inspection, port security or coordination among the relevant agencies.
He argued that officials who may have been involved in the processes under investigation should not remain in their positions while inquiries are ongoing.
He also raised concerns about the potential impact of the incident on Ghana’s international reputation, including increased scrutiny of Ghanaian exports and travellers.
According to him, the government should go beyond arresting individuals who allegedly transported the drugs and investigate the financiers and organisers behind the trafficking networks.
“It’s like what we do with galamsey. As long as you leave the kingpins, there will be no end to the galamsey in the pits,” he said.
Mr Aboagye urged security agencies to follow the financial and other trails linked to the shipments to identify those funding and coordinating the operations.
He also criticised what he described as an inadequate response to the cocaine seizure, saying meetings between government and security agencies must be followed by concrete measures to address weaknesses in the system.
He said the priority should be to identify how the shipment escaped detection and strengthen Ghana’s port and border security systems to prevent similar incidents.
