A Lebanese security team is expected to arrive in Ghana to collaborate with local investigators on the 46.7kg cocaine shipment that was flown out of Accra and seized in Beirut. The joint investigation aims to uncover the individuals behind the consignment, the network's operations, and potential local involvement. This development comes as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) rejected opposition calls for the Interior Minister and heads of various security agencies to be sacked over the case.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has dismissed demands by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Interior Minister and heads of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and other agencies to resign. NDC's Deputy Director of Elections and IT, Tanko Rashid-Computer, urged the government to ignore the NPP's calls, questioning their credibility. He commended NACOC for tracing the network instead of stopping at the courier and assured that the long arm of the investigation would reach all those involved.
According to NACOC, the Syrian courier arrested at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut was allowed to leave Ghana under a controlled delivery agreed with Lebanon. Three foreign nationals have been arrested in Ghana over the shipment. The Lebanese security team will also examine bribery allegations and possible security lapses at Kotoka International Airport, where the cocaine was flown out. The team will investigate whether there were local helpers and how the network operated.
The Interior Ministry has defended the controlled delivery, stating that joint operations with foreign partners aim to bring down entire cartels rather than stop at arrests in Ghana. Interior Ministry spokesperson Julius Kwame Anthony cited a 2022 operation where Ghanaian authorities let suspects fly out to be picked up in Britain. He emphasized that the end goal of these operations is not in Ghana but in dismantling the cartels.
The NPP has been pressing for a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry and a joint Ghana-Lebanon statement on whether the Beirut arrest followed a Ghanaian-led controlled delivery. They also demand that NACOC make public the identities of the suspects held in Ghana, their nationalities, and the charges against them. Additionally, the NPP wants a roadmap of the government's drug trafficking taskforce, which was due on October 1.
The Herald newspaper reported that the government is taking measures to enhance security at Kotoka International Airport, including buying more sniffer dogs and scanners. Some scanners that were tampered with have been repaired, and access to food vending areas and the private jet terminal is under review. These measures aim to prevent similar incidents in the future.
NACOC's Deputy Director-General Alexander Twum-Barimah revealed that Ghana and Lebanon signed an intelligence-sharing agreement after Lebanese officials visited Ghana in February. The Lebanese team's arrival date has not been announced, and NACOC has not publicly named the three suspects it is holding or specified the charges against them.
Key points
- - A Lebanese security delegation will join Ghanaian investigators to probe the 46.7kg cocaine shipment. - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected opposition calls for the Interior Minister and security agency heads to be sacked. - The joint investigation will examine bribery allegations and security lapses at Kotoka International Airport.
