'NPP withdrawal of NACOC from port inspection teams in 2018 was major cause' – Agalga on cocaine busts

Majority Leader James Agalga has blamed the withdrawal of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) from inspection teams at Ghana’s ports for some of the country’s difficulties in intercepting illicit drugs.

He identified the decision, which he said was taken by the previous government around 2018 or 2019, as a major factor behind the movement of narcotics through the country’s ports while speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express.

His explanation came after host Evans Mensah challenged him to identify the circumstances that had allowed cocaine consignments linked to Ghana to be intercepted in foreign jurisdictions.

The host also put to him allegations that the government had become soft on drug traffickers, with suggestions that some individuals within the governing establishment could be complicit.

Agalga rejected the accusations and pointed instead to what he described as an earlier policy decision that weakened port-level drug inspections.

“Let me tell you what the real cause has been: the withdrawal of Narcotics Control Commission from the inspection teams at the ports sometime in 2019, 2018 thereabout, by the previous government. It was a major cause of drugs movement through Ghana ports,” he said.

Mensah questioned why Ghana had not recorded a comparable number of seizures if the withdrawal had been such a significant problem, particularly given the 29 incidents recorded under the current administration.

But Agalga insisted that drug interceptions had also taken place under previous governments and proceeded to list several cases dating back to 2017.