President Mahama Sets Two-Week Deadline for Port Security Roadmap After Massive €225 Million Cocaine Seizure

President John Mahama has directed the immediate formation of an inter-agency task force to address systemic failures at Ghana’s ports following the interception of approximately 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in France. The illicit cargo, valued at an estimated €225 million, was concealed within four containers of plastic waste that originated from Tema Port and was seized at the port of Dunkirk on September 10. During an emergency briefing with national security chiefs, the President mandated a comprehensive action plan to be delivered within two weeks, emphasizing that the integrity of Ghana's export control systems must be restored to protect the nation's international reputation.

The investigation has already led to the detention of ten individuals, including four officers from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). On September 17, 2026, the Kwabenya Circuit Court denied bail to six suspects, including the GRA employees, who are accused of facilitating the shipment despite abnormal images appearing during the mandatory scanning process. Simultaneously, the High Court in Accra has remanded four other principal suspects—Desmond Koranteng Curiel, Musah Attah, Kweku Otchere, and Jessica Hartog—until October 13. Prosecutors allege the group conspired to export the narcotics to France, with links to an international drug trafficking network involving Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, who remains at large.

The scale of the breach has triggered sharp criticism from political figures and security experts. Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul has called for the Chief Executive of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Brigadier-General Paul Seidu Tanye-Kulono, to step aside to ensure the integrity of the ongoing probe. Nitiwul further urged the government to expand the investigation to include all personnel in the operational chain and to revisit major drug seizures from the past year. Similarly, former Deputy Defence Minister Kofi Amankwa-Manu has advocated for an emergency recall of Parliament to facilitate a coordinated national response to what he described as an escalating narcotics crisis.

Beyond the immediate arrests, security consultant Dr. Ishmael Norman has warned that Ghana’s "fragmented" drug enforcement architecture is being exploited by sophisticated criminal syndicates. He criticized the current reactive approach, calling for a unified inspection protocol between the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Customs, and National Security to close existing gaps. Minister of State Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed that port security operations are under intense review to address identified weaknesses. As the two-week deadline for the new security roadmap approaches, the government faces significant pressure to implement decisive structural reforms to prevent the country’s ports from becoming a preferred gateway for global narcotics trafficking.