Omanghana
French customs authorities have seized nearly 3.9 tones of cocaine concealed in a container carrying plastic waste from Ghana at the northern port of Dunkirk.
The drugs were estimated to have a street value of about €225 million, equivalent to approximately $261 million. French authorities said part of the consignment had initially been intended for Antwerp in Belgium.
The cocaine was discovered during an intelligence-led operation targeting an international organised crime network. French officials said the entire seized consignment had subsequently been destroyed.
France’s National Prosecutor’s Office Against Organized Crime has opened an investigation into suspected offences including the acquisition, possession, transportation and organised importation of narcotics.
The investigation has been assigned to France’s anti-narcotics office, OFAST, which is seeking to identify the individuals and organizations responsible for arranging the shipment. The suspected network had already been under scrutiny by the country’s national judicial police.
The alleged offences carry significant prison terms, with some of the crimes under investigation punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The seizure has prompted arrests and intensified investigations in Ghana. The Narcotics Control Commission announced the arrest of three suspects accused of representing and facilitating the activities of wanted Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, popularly known as “Bolle Jos.”
NACOC said the suspects were being held to assist investigators in examining their alleged roles in the trafficking operation. The commission disclosed that some of the individuals had been under surveillance for between one and two years before the French interception.
Leijdekkers is wanted in Europe over his alleged involvement in large-scale international cocaine trafficking. Ghanaian authorities said their intelligence indicated that he had not personally entered Ghana but that suspected associates were operating on his behalf in the country.
Four Ghanaian suspects have also been remanded in custody over the shipment. Prosecutors told the court that NACOC received information about a 40-foot container containing plastic waste that had originated from Ghana and was intercepted in Dunkirk with about four tones of suspected cocaine.
Investigators have also focused on the handling of the containers at Tema Port. A charge sheet filed by the Bureau of National Investigation alleged that concerns had arisen during the scanning process before the containers were exported on August 19, 2026.
Six suspects, including four officers from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, were denied bail by the Kwabenya Circuit Court over allegations connected to the scanning and export process. The allegations have not been proven, and the accused remain presumed innocent.
Reports indicate that 10 people, including the four Customs officers, are being held as investigations into the shipment and possible security failures at Ghana’s ports continue.
The case has renewed scrutiny of the country’s port-security system and the procedures used to scan, inspect and clear containers for export. Authorities are examining how such a large quantity of narcotics could allegedly pass through multiple layers of control without being detected.
President John Dramani Mahama has reportedly directed security agencies to develop a two-week inter-agency plan to strengthen efforts against drug trafficking through Ghana’s ports and borders.
Madina Member of Parliament Dr Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu has also called for a comprehensive investigation, warning that repeated international drug seizures involving shipments connected to Ghana could damage the country’s reputation.
He urged security agencies to identify and prosecute everyone responsible, regardless of their position or connections.
Investigations remain underway in both France and Ghana to trace the ownership of the shipment, establish the roles played by the suspects and uncover the wider international network behind the consignment.
Source: Omanghana
