Lawyer and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has called for the arrest and investigation of everyone involved in handling a container loaded with cocaine that was shipped from Ghana.
His comments follow the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine by French customs at the Port of Dunkirk on September 10.
The consignment, concealed in a container carrying plastic waste, had departed from Ghana and was reportedly valued at about €225 million.
Mr Bentil said the large quantity of narcotics suggested that those behind the shipment were confident it would pass through Ghana’s security and customs checks without being detected.
Speaking in an interview, he said people who transport smaller quantities of drugs usually take elaborate steps to conceal them because they expect their consignments to be searched.
“People do these things and hide it. They swallow it. They put it in all kinds of secret compartments because they know they’ll be searched and they are trying to conceal it. But if somebody is exporting tonnes of it, container loads of it, then the person expects that it will go through.”
According to Mr Bentil, the shipment raises questions about whether those involved believed they could exploit weaknesses within the system or rely on the complicity of some officials.
“The person expects that the people who are supposed to check will not check. The person expects that they will have the complicity of the system. And guess what? It worked, because he wasn’t arrested in Ghana.”
He therefore called for everyone involved in the handling and movement of the container to be arrested and investigated.
“If I were anywhere near power, everybody in that chain would be arrested.”
Mr Bentil also warned that the movement of container-load quantities of narcotics through Ghana could damage the country’s international reputation and raise concerns about its role in the global drug trade.
“When you export container loads, tonnes of narcotics, you are a major drug place.”
