New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on the government to identify those financing and organising cocaine shipments linked to Ghana, arguing that arresting drug couriers alone will not address the problem.
He questioned how consignments suspected to contain narcotics continue to pass through Ghana’s ports without detection, insisting that authorities must pursue the networks behind the shipments.
“Our dear motherland is gaining notoriety for drugs being arrested abroad, having passed through our borders unnoticed. Our country’s name is being dragged through ports in Europe, and the government has answered with meetings, not results,” he said.
“Arresting couriers is not enough. Ghanaians want to know who is financing these shipments and how they keep getting through,” he added.
Dr Bawumia made the remarks on October 3, 2026, while addressing the NPP’s National Delegates Conference at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
His comments follow a series of international drug seizures involving consignments reportedly linked to Ghana, including the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French customs authorities at the northern port of Dunkirk on September 10.
The cocaine, valued at approximately €225 million (US$261.45 million), was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana. Part of the shipment was reportedly destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the seizure and the criminal network suspected of being behind the consignment.
Dr Bawumia’s remarks place renewed focus on efforts to identify the people and organisations allegedly financing and coordinating drug shipments, as well as how such consignments move through international supply routes.
