Ghana has been identified as the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at the port of Antwerp in Belgium for the year 2025. This information comes from figures released by Belgian customs, which reported seizing nearly 55 tonnes of cocaine at Antwerp last year. This amount represents a 24 per cent increase from the 44 tonnes seized in 2024. The data was presented by Belgium's Finance Minister, Jan Jambon, on 21 January 2026.
The list of top countries of origin for cocaine seized at Antwerp was dominated by Latin American producer and transit states, with Ghana being the only African country on the list. Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Colombia made up the rest of the top five, according to a breakdown reported by VRT, Belgium's public broadcaster. VRT described Ghana as "the odd one out" in this context.
Antwerp serves as the main entry point for cocaine into Europe, and Belgian customs describe Belgium as the continent's most important destination for cocaine shipped by sea. In customs figures, the "country of origin" refers to the country where a container was loaded and shipped from, not where the drug was produced. None of the cocaine is grown in Ghana; it originates from the Andes and is hidden in legitimate Ghanaian exports.
Ghana's ranking reflects a series of large seizures at Antwerp on cargo from Tema. In late November 2025, Belgian authorities discovered 2,829 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cassava flour shipped from Tema. In December, a further 1,158 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine was found in a shipment from Ghana. Together, these two seizures amount to about 4 tonnes, roughly 7 per cent of all the cocaine seized at the port in 2025.
This development marks a new trend, as a major 2022 analysis of Europe's cocaine market by the European Union's drugs agency and Europol did not mention Ghana among West African countries linked to large seizures. The countries mentioned included Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. Ghana's appearance on the list indicates a growing concern regarding the country's ports and their use in the cocaine trade.
The Belgian figures are part of a wider pattern of seizures abroad traced to Ghanaian ports. In June 2025, Dutch customs seized 4,500 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in a timber shipment from Tema at the port of Amsterdam, the largest seizure in the port's history. In September 2026, French customs at Dunkirk found nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in a container of plastic waste from Ghana, part of it bound for Antwerp.
The issue has prompted significant reactions from authorities and opposition in Ghana. President John Mahama convened a meeting of security chiefs and directed an inter-agency task force to review Ghana's systems for detecting narcotics. The task force was to submit a roadmap for stopping drugs from moving through the country's ports and borders within two weeks. Ten people, including four officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, were detained and put before the courts.
Key points
- Ghana was the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at Antwerp, Belgium in 2025.
- The cocaine seized in Belgium originated from various countries, with Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Colombia making up the top four.
- Ghana's ports, particularly Tema, have been used in significant cocaine shipments to Europe, prompting concerns and actions from authorities.
