Omanghana
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has endorsed calls for a bipartisan parliamentary investigation into the country’s growing drug trafficking problem, describing the proposed probe as legitimate, necessary and urgent.
In a statement issued on Monday, September 21, 2026, the bishops described the illegal drug trade as a profound moral crisis that threatens public safety and undermines the integrity of Ghana’s institutions.
Their intervention follows the seizure of nearly 3.9 tones of cocaine by French customs authorities at Dunkirk on September 10.
The drugs, estimated to have a street value of about €225 million, were reportedly concealed in a container carrying plastic waste. The shipment originated from Ghana and was destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
Four Ghanaian suspects have since been remanded by a court in Accra in connection with the consignment. However, the bishops said prosecuting individuals directly linked to the shipment would not be sufficient to address the broader problem.
They called for a comprehensive investigation into the financial networks, organizers and institutional facilitators behind large-scale narcotics trafficking.
According to the conference, law enforcement agencies must move beyond arresting couriers and low-level participants by tracing the money used to finance drug operations and identifying their principal beneficiaries.
The bishops also urged Parliament to examine possible complicity among public officials and other people responsible for managing Ghana’s ports, airports and land borders.
They referred to previous drug-related cases involving state officials, including the March 2026 arrest of nine public officers, among them five Customs personnel, over undeclared tramadol at the Tema Port.
The conference said such incidents raised serious concerns about the ability of criminal networks to move large quantities of illegal substances through authorised commercial entry and exit points.
It called for stronger oversight, accountability and security systems at the country’s ports and borders to prevent Ghana from being used as a transit route for transnational organised crime.
The bishops also welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s directive establishing an inter-agency task force to combat drug trafficking.
They said parliamentary scrutiny and coordinated action among security agencies could complement each other by uncovering systemic weaknesses while ensuring that those responsible are investigated and prosecuted.
The conference urged the proposed parliamentary inquiry to be transparent, bipartisan and protected from political interference.
It maintained that Ghana’s response must target the full trafficking chain, including financiers, organizers, facilitators and any public officials found to have assisted criminal networks.
Source: Omanghana
