Omanghana
Six people, including four officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority, have been remanded in custody over their alleged involvement in the exportation of nearly 3.9 tones of suspected cocaine from Ghana to France.
The accused appeared before the Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra on Thursday, September 17, 2026. The court denied their applications for bail and remanded them as investigations into the international shipment continued.
They were identified as Francis Narh Amanor, Frank Adu-Boahen, Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea and Helena Akua Denkyi.
Four of the accused work with the GRA and are alleged to have played roles in the handling of the Customs scanning process through which the containers were cleared for export.
The six face charges of conspiracy to export narcotic drugs and exporting narcotic drugs without a license. The four GRA officials have additionally been accused of abetting the alleged exportation.
According to the prosecution, four 40-foot containers were processed at Tema Port before being shipped from Ghana. Their identification numbers were given as SELU4549480, FFAU2242304, MSDU5642699 and SELU4809801.
The containers were reportedly declared as carrying pet flakes or plastic waste. Prosecutors, however, said images produced during the scanning process showed abnormalities that should have resulted in further checks.
Despite the warning signs, the containers were allegedly cleared and allowed to leave the port without the required physical inspection. French customs officers later intercepted the consignment at the Port of Dunkirk and recovered nearly 3.9 tones of suspected cocaine.
The drugs have been valued at about €225 million, equivalent to approximately $260 million, making the interception one of the largest recent narcotics seizures linked to cargo originating from Ghana.
Prosecutors alleged that Frank Adu-Boahen gave his system login credentials to other accused persons, enabling them to conduct the scan-image analysis he was assigned to perform.
The abnormalities identified in the images were allegedly not escalated for further inspection before the containers were released.
Investigators also claim that Adu-Boahen owned the four containers. He was reportedly arrested at a hideout in Community 19, Tema, on September 16.
During questioning, he allegedly admitted ownership of the containers and told investigators that they were loaded at a warehouse in Community 12, Tema, with the assistance of Francis Narh Amanor.
Amanor, a freight forwarder and managing director of Fresna Commodities Limited, was arrested on September 15. Investigators reportedly used the Integrated Customs Management System to identify Fresna Commodities as the exporter.
A telephone number connected to the transaction was also reportedly linked to F&F Logistics, the freight-forwarding company that allegedly handled the shipment.
Amanor is said to have told investigators that he owned F&F Logistics and managed the export process but had been informed that the containers held pet flakes or plastic scraps. He reportedly identified Adu-Boahen as the owner of the shipment.
The allegations have not been proven, and all six accused persons are entitled to the presumption of innocence until a court determines otherwise.
The case has been adjourned to September 24, 2026. Investigators are expected to establish who reviewed the flagged scanning images, what information was detected and why the containers were allowed to leave Tema Port without additional examination.
The case has triggered broader investigations involving the Narcotics Control Commission, intelligence agencies and international law-enforcement partners seeking to identify members of the transnational network behind the shipment.
President John Dramani Mahama has also convened emergency security meetings over the incident and other narcotics cases linked to the country’s ports.
He has ordered the formation of an inter-agency task force to review cargo-screening procedures, intelligence sharing and coordination among state institutions operating at Ghana’s ports and borders.
The task force has been given two weeks to prepare a comprehensive security roadmap aimed at closing operational gaps and preventing criminal organizations from exploiting Ghana’s trade corridors.
Source: Omanghana
