20/09/2026
Ghana Has Had Documented Drug-Trafficking Cases
There is an important distinction between political argument and the historical record.
It is simply not accurate to suggest that Ghana has never had serious drug-smuggling or trafficking issues involving people connected to public institutions or political parties.
In 2005, Eric Amoateng, the former NPP Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North, was arrested in the United States in a he**in-trafficking case. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Contemporary reporting and later Ghanaian court reporting document the conviction and imprisonment.
And this is not an issue confined to 2005.
In March 2024, an alleged 8.5kg co***ne-smuggling incident was traced through Kotoka International Airport. Ghana Airports Company Limited confirmed that investigations were ongoing and that relevant staff were interdicted. Later reporting said the staff were reinstated after the investigation. Importantly, the available reporting does not establish that every person mentioned in political commentary was criminally responsible, so those facts should not be overstated.
Beyond individual cases, the scale of narcotics seizures demonstrates that Ghana has continued to face a substantial drug-trafficking and drug-abuse challenge. NACOC reported destroying more than 150,000 kg of assorted illicit drugs seized between 2021 and 2024, including cannabis, co***ne, he**in, methamphetamine and other controlled substances.
So the conversation should not be about pretending the problem never existed.
The facts show that drug trafficking has been a real and recurring national challenge, involving investigations, arrests, prosecutions, seizures and destruction of narcotics under successive periods of government.
The sensible national question is therefore not “Which party can pretend this problem never happened?” but:
How do we strengthen our airports, borders, law-enforcement institutions and justice system to prevent trafficking, protect our young people and dismantle the networks behind the trade?
That is a conversation Ghana deserves to have based on evidence, accountability and facts—not political denial.
