Gov’t drug strategy now targets criminal networks – Agalga

Majority Leader and Builsa North MP James Agalga says the government has changed its approach to combating drug trafficking, moving beyond the arrest of couriers and seizure of narcotics to targeting the criminal networks and financial structures behind the trade.

He said the strategy now places greater emphasis on disrupting the profits, assets and illicit financial flows that enable organised drug trafficking groups to operate.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, September 24, Mr Agalga said the government’s objective was to weaken the financial systems sustaining the narcotics trade rather than focus primarily on individuals used to transport drugs.

“This government's stance is that drug control is not about the courier; it's about the criminal network and its profits,” he said.

To illustrate the approach, Mr Agalga cited operations by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) between July 2025 and August 2026.

He said NACOC had during the period restrained 73 assets suspected to be connected to illicit activities and seized more than 19 kilograms of gold in cases involving suspected drug-money laundering.

The Commission, he added, also restrained cash and other assets valued at more than US$6.9 million and GH¢440,000.

Mr Agalga said the figures reflected a deliberate shift in how the effectiveness of the anti-narcotics campaign was being assessed, with greater attention being paid to the financial resources that sustain organised trafficking networks.

“This is the shift from counting seizures to disrupting the money supply that drives organised trafficking,” he added.

He maintained that pursuing the financial networks behind the narcotics trade was essential to disrupting organised trafficking in a more sustained manner.

His comments come amid intensified efforts by state agencies to combat drug trafficking and related financial crimes, with greater emphasis being placed on individuals and networks responsible for financing, coordinating and profiting from the illicit trade.