Kwabenya court denies bail to six accused over 3.9tonne cocaine shipment

The Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra has refused bail to six persons accused of involvement in the alleged export of nearly four tonnes of suspected cocaine from Ghana to France.

The accused appeared before the court on Thursday, September 17, 2026, over four 40-foot containers that allegedly departed from the Tema Port and were later intercepted in France with about 3.9 tonnes of substances suspected to be narcotic drugs.

The court has remanded the six accused persons in custody and adjourned the case to September 24, 2026, to allow investigations to continue.

The accused are Francis Narh Amanor, Frank Adu-Boahen, Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea and Helena Akua Denkyi.

Four of the accused are employees of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and are alleged to have played roles in the Customs scanning process at the Tema Port.

According to the prosecution, the four containers, identified by the numbers SELU4549480, FFAU2242304, MSDU5642699 and SELU4809801, underwent scanning before being exported.

The prosecution alleges that the resulting scan images contained abnormalities that should have prompted further scrutiny of the containers. Despite the concerns reportedly raised by the images, the containers were allegedly cleared and allowed to leave the country.

Investigators are now examining the circumstances surrounding the scanning and clearance of the containers, including who assessed the images, what was detected, what action was taken and why the shipments were ultimately released.

The charge sheet further alleges that Frank Adu-Boahen made his login credentials available to other accused persons to conduct scan-image analysis on his behalf, despite being responsible for carrying out the analysis himself.

The prosecution claims that irregularities were identified in the scan images but that the containers were not subjected to physical examination before their release.

Adu-Boahen is also alleged to be the owner of the four containers. The prosecution says he was arrested at an alleged hideout at Community 19 in Tema on September 16.

According to investigators, Adu-Boahen admitted during interrogation that he owned the containers and that they had been loaded at a warehouse in Community 12, Tema. He allegedly said the shipment was exported together with the first accused, Francis Narh Amanor.

Amanor, described by the prosecution as a freight forwarder and Managing Director of Fresna Commodities Ltd, was arrested on September 15.

The prosecution said checks conducted through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) identified Fresna Commodities Ltd as the exporter, with Amanor’s telephone number listed as the contact number.

The same telephone number was reportedly linked to F&F Logistics, which was identified as the freight forwarder for the shipment.

According to the charge sheet, Amanor told investigators that he owned F&F Logistics and had facilitated the exportation of the containers.

He allegedly told investigators that the containers contained pet flakes or plastic scraps.

The prosecution further alleges that Amanor identified Frank as the owner of the shipment and said Frank had engaged his services to handle the export.

The six accused persons are facing three main charges: conspiracy to export narcotic drugs, exportation of narcotic drugs without the requisite licence, and abetment of the exportation of narcotic drugs.

The third charge has been brought against the four GRA officials.

The prosecution alleges that Amanor and Adu-Boahen exported the four containers from the Tema Port with approximately 3.9 tonnes of suspected narcotic substances.

Following their appearance before the Kwabenya Circuit Court, the six accused were denied bail and remanded in custody.

Their continued detention comes as investigators work to establish how the containers were loaded, scanned, cleared and eventually exported from Ghana despite the alleged abnormalities detected during the Customs scanning process.

The case has been adjourned to September 24, 2026.