Security Consultant Dr Ishmael Norman is calling for a major review of Ghana’s drug enforcement system, warning that gaps between security and regulatory agencies could be creating opportunities for organised drug networks.
His comments come amid recent cocaine seizures and growing concerns about the movement of narcotics, including cocaine and methamphetamine, through the country.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Dr Norman said drug trafficking should no longer be treated as an occasional problem.
“I think the approach to drug enforcement in Ghana is that we look at it as an occasional emergency, rather than an existential threat to us.”
He argued that the movement of large quantities of narcotics through Ghana points to weaknesses that involve several institutions, rather than a single agency.
“And so, for this kind of quantum of drugs — methamphetamine, cocaine — to be exported through our country tells us that all the security agencies—and I’m talking, it is not one agency that is responsible for drug enforcement.”
Dr Norman said the country needs to examine how agencies including NACCOC, the FDA, the Ghana Standards Board, Customs and National Security are organised and coordinate their work.
“And so we need to take a look at the security architecture, the system, the institutional layout of all of them, because it’s too fragmented, and when it comes to examination, mandatory presence of very key agencies, sometimes they are missing.”
He said drug enforcement agencies should form part of routine inspection procedures instead of being brought in only when Customs detects something suspicious.
“It is only when maybe Customs goes in and does an inspection, and they see they suspect that there’s something there, that they call NACCOC. That shouldn’t be the case. It should be a standard protocol for them to get involved.”
Beyond coordination, Dr Norman raised concerns about the resources and investigative capacity available to some of the agencies.
“NACCOC lacks a lot of skills in terms of even an investigation room; they don’t have one. They don’t even have enough vehicles to do their job.”
He also questioned the infrastructure available to Customs and raised concerns about who takes responsibility for containers throughout the inspection and storage process.
“And when it comes to chain of custody of a lot of the containers, who is responsible for the containers? We don’t know who is really in charge.”
Dr Norman further questioned the country’s capacity to physically inspect containers, particularly given the limited coverage.
“It’s less than 15% when it comes to the physical inspection of the containers.”
He warned that organised drug traffickers could take advantage of these institutional weaknesses because they study how enforcement systems operate.
“So, you see, the drug dealers, they are very organised. They are sophisticated. They are listening to this program as we are talking.”
He added that criminal networks learn from weaknesses within the agencies tasked with fighting drug trafficking.
“They learn from the weaknesses of the institutions charged with the responsibility to stop and fight the drug menace in this country, and spoiling the image of Ghana.”
Dr Norman said the issue could also have consequences for Ghana’s international reputation.
“The brand Ghana is now being associated with drug trafficking, which shouldn’t be the case.”