The Jatikay Centre expresses profound outrage over the arrest of a Syrian national at Lebanon’s Rafic Hariri International Airport with 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine transported from Accra. Described as the largest drug seizure in the airport’s history, this incident is a monumental embarrassment to Ghana and raises serious questions about the effectiveness of our narcotics enforcement and the entire national security ecosystem.
Even more disturbing is the subsequent statement by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), claiming that the arrest resulted from a coordinated controlled delivery operation with Lebanese authorities.
We find this explanation deeply unsatisfactory and potentially a damage control measure.
Several critical questions demand immediate answers:
1. If NACOC knew about the cocaine shipment, why was the suspect allowed to depart Accra International Airport with such a substantial quantity of narcotics?
2. If this was a controlled delivery operation, when was the cocaine detected, what safeguards were established, and what evidence supports NACOC’s operational collaboration claim?
3. Why did the Lebanese authorities’ initial statement credit their Customs and General Security agencies without explicitly acknowledging Ghana’s involvement?
4. If its a controlled delivery, was it delivered? Or arrest was made at the airport in Lebanon?
5. Has any accomplice who perhaps might have facilitated the movement of these drugs in Ghana been arrested?
6. Why does NACOC report approximately 40 kilogrammes while Lebanese authorities report 46.7 kilogrammes? The discrepancy requires clarification.
Controlled deliveries are legitimate law enforcement techniques. However, invoking the term should not become a convenient excuse for operational failures.
Ghana is increasingly at risk of acquiring international notoriety as an attractive transit point for drug trafficking syndicates. Every such incident damages our country’s credibility, undermines confidence in our border security and raises legitimate concerns about possible negligence, institutional weaknesses or complicity.
We demand a more decisive action on this matter. HEADS MUST ROLL.
We cannot continue tolerating a situation where foreign security agencies intercept massive drug shipments departing Ghana while our institutions issue statements celebrating cooperation without providing convincing answers.
Ghana must not become a safe departure point for international drug traffickers. Our security agencies must demonstrate competence, accountability and results; not merely public relations.
Adib Saani
JATIKAY CENTRE
