The Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building has called for a review of Ghana’s security and cargo-control architecture following a series of large-scale narcotics consignments linked to the country.
The Centre welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to convene security, intelligence, narcotics-control, customs, port, and other relevant stakeholders to address what it described as an alarming emerging narcotics trafficking threat.
According to the Centre, the scale and frequency of recent cases go beyond the issue of arrests and seizures, raising concerns about the effectiveness of Ghana’s intelligence, border-control and port-security systems.
It questioned whether institutions responsible for anticipating and disrupting narcotics trafficking threats had been sufficiently proactive, particularly given the occurrence of multiple major international seizures.
The Jatikay Centre said the President’s intervention was necessary but argued that it also raised questions about why the pattern of trafficking had not triggered earlier and more decisive action from the national security coordination architecture.
It specifically called on the National Security Coordinator to have anticipated the threat rather than responding after several major international seizures.
As an immediate confidence-building measure, the Centre urged President Mahama to consider changing key officers responsible for various stages of Ghana’s security and cargo-control chain.
It also called for an independent vulnerability assessment of the relevant systems to identify weaknesses that may have enabled the trafficking networks to operate.
The Centre stressed that the proposed changes should not be construed as allegations of wrongdoing against any individual, but rather as measures aimed at restoring public confidence and providing fresh leadership where serious vulnerabilities may have emerged.
Beyond the seizure of narcotics and arrest of couriers, the Centre said investigations must focus on uncovering the financiers, facilitators, compromised insiders and international criminal networks behind the consignments.
It warned that Ghana’s emerging narcotics trafficking challenge should no longer be treated solely as a narcotics-control matter.
“This is no longer simply a narcotics-control issue,” the Centre said, describing the situation as a national security and institutional integrity challenge.
It cautioned that Ghana could not afford to become a logistics hub for transnational organised crime.
The statement was signed by Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, on September 15, 2026.
