Managing Editor of The Herald Newspaper, Larry Dogbey, has raised concerns over what he says is information indicating that a large quantity of cocaine is currently stuck in Ghana and facing difficulties being moved out of the country.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on September 19, Dogbey said the reported situation raises questions about the scale of narcotics trafficking and the effectiveness of controls at Ghana’s ports.
The comments come amid renewed scrutiny of Ghana’s role in international cocaine trafficking following the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, valued at approximately €225 million, by French customs authorities. The consignment, concealed in a container of plastic waste, had arrived at the Port of Dunkirk from Ghana on September 10, 2026.
Six people have subsequently been arraigned before the Kwabenya Circuit Court in connection with the shipment and remanded while investigations continue. Four of those accused are officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division. Prosecutors allege that scans of the containers showed abnormalities before the shipment was nevertheless cleared for export.
Dogbey has also questioned the reported exclusion of personnel from the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) from physical inspections of containers at major ports, asking who authorised the change and why.
He suggested that a parliamentary inquiry could provide an opportunity for officials involved in decisions surrounding port inspections to explain the circumstances.
The controversy has also prompted responses from political figures. Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul said NACOC personnel were not removed from Tema Port under the previous administration, but that they had been stopped from participating in physical container inspections following port reforms introduced in 2018.
President John Dramani Mahama has since directed that NACOC be restored to the joint container inspection process and instructed security and regulatory agencies at Ghana’s ports to develop a framework for harmonising their operations.
Dogbey’s claim about a large quantity of cocaine allegedly remaining in Ghana has not, from the sources reviewed, been independently quantified or publicly confirmed by authorities. His comments should therefore be understood as a reported claim rather than an established figure.
Source: ChannelOne News / Citi Newsroom.
