Drug Trafficker Acquires Scanner to Test Whether Security Equipment Can Detect

Narcotics, NACOC Boss Tells PAC
A suspected drug trafficker has acquired a scanner to test whether security equipment can detect narcotics, the Director-General of Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, has disclosed.

The Chronicle carried the story on its front page on Thursday, 22 October 2026, under the byline of Richard Owusu-Akyaw. The headline says Brig. Gen. Mantey made the disclosure to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

According to the report, the development shows how sophisticated trafficking methods are becoming. Traffickers are no longer only hiding drugs. They are now studying the technology meant to catch them. A scanner in a suspect's hands could let a trafficker test concealment methods in private before sending a consignment through an airport or port.

Why it matters
Ghana has been investing in detection equipment. Brig. Gen. Mantey said in June 2026 that the government was providing mobile drug detection devices and, with the Netherlands, replacing the body-intrusive scanners at Accra's airport.

NACOC said a new detection system, including mobile scanners provided jointly by Ghana and the Netherlands, would be deployed at the airport from August 2026. The Dutch government has also donated a full-body scanner and a baggage scanner to NACOC.

If traffickers can buy and test similar equipment, detection technology alone will not be enough. Scanners also need trained operators, regular updates and intelligence-led checks.

The wider threat
NACOC has warned that Ghana's role in the drug trade is growing. Brig. Gen. Mantey has said the country is increasingly a distribution hub as well as a transit point.

The commission recently arrested the lead shipper in a Ghana-Australia methamphetamine case, a Ghanaian woman, in connection with about 320 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in a charcoal shipment from Ghana and intercepted in Australia.

He has also said more arrests would follow and that NACOC aims to stop Ghana from becoming a narco-state.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880

Source: The Chronicle, Thursday, 22 October 2026, front page and page 3, "Drug Trafficker Acquires Scanner" by Richard Owusu-Akyaw.

References:
MyJoyOnline: "Government procures mobile drug detectors, upgrades airport scanners to strengthen narcotics fight" (myjoyonline.com, June 2026)

Information Services Department: "NACOC to Deploy New Drug Detection Scanners at Accra International Airport" (isd.gov.gh, 1 July 2026)

Citi Newsroom: "NACOC to deploy new drug detection scanners at Accra Int'l Airport" (citinewsroom.com, June 2026)

Ghanaian Times: "Netherlands Donates Security Scanners to NACOC" (ghanaiantimes.com.gh)

Ghana News Agency: "NACOC arrest lead shipper in Ghana-Australia methamphetamine trafficking saga" (gna.org.gh, June 2026)