The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) needs more personnel and specialised training to effectively tackle the growing threat of drug trafficking in Ghana, Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has said.
The Wa West Member of Parliament said increasing the Commission’s workforce was necessary to strengthen the country’s ability to detect, investigate and disrupt narcotics-related activities.
According to him, providing NACOC with modern equipment and technology alone would not be enough if there were not enough trained officers to operate them and conduct operations across the country.
Mr Toobu’s comments follow renewed concerns about Ghana’s involvement in international drug trafficking investigations after French authorities seized about 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine from a container shipped from Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, September 19, he said the latest development should push the government to invest more resources into agencies responsible for fighting the narcotics trade.
“It’s no longer a joking matter. We are being stressed. Police are involved. BNI is involved. NACOC is playing the lead role. But they don’t have the numbers,” he said.
Mr Toobu disclosed that NACOC’s current workforce was below 2,000 and called for the recruitment, training and effective deployment of additional officers.
He also stressed the need for stronger cooperation among NACOC, the police and other security agencies, arguing that increased manpower would be most effective when supported by proper coordination and deployment.
The call comes after Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak told Parliament in July that NACOC was operating in only 66 of Ghana’s 261 districts due to shortages of personnel and equipment.
NACOC has, however, said its recent operations have been intelligence-led. The Commission has also disclosed that some suspects connected to the French cocaine seizure had been under surveillance for between one and two years before their arrest.
