Cocaine smuggle: NACOB boss "smells a rat" at Aviance Cargo Village

Executive Secretary at the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Mr Akrasi Sarpong says he is not shying away from his responsibility in ensuring that hard drugs are neither smuggled into or out of Ghana.

He has also stated that he is not going to lay the blame at the doorstep of any individual or institution.

Mr Akrasi Sarpong who made his sentiments known in an off-air interview with sister radio station, Happy FM, however, indicated that some loop holes in the discharge of duties at the Aviance Cargo Village at the Kotoka International Airport could be responsible for the smuggling of hard drugs from Ghana and is, therefore, calling for a critical look into the security arrangements at the Aviance Cargo Village.

He made this observation in the wake of seizure of some consignment containing about 1.5 tonnes of cannabis from Ghana at Heathrow Airport. Though speaking off-air, he gave his consent for his statements to be published.

In the past week, two consignments containing hard drugs have been seized by border officials at Heathrow Airport in London.

Whilst some are calling for “heads to roll” at NACOB, the NACOB boss himself is of the suspicion that some officials at the Aviance Cargo Village are hampering the work of NACOB officers who have been stationed there to ensure that hard drugs are neither smuggled out or into Ghana.

Mr Akrasi Sarpong in the course of the discussion noted that the Aviance Cargo Village is run by a private individual where government institutions including NACOB, CEPS and Immigration are stationed.

He noted that it had become common for people to jump to conclusions and blame NACOB any time smuggling of hard drugs into or outside Ghana became public.

He said, “It is completely erroneous that from the beginning at the gate to the export, it is all NACOB.”

He admitted that national security operatives at the cargo gates had a certain responsibility but was quick to add that the standard operating procedures at Aviance inhibited the work of the national security operatives, of which NACOB was inclusive.

Mr Akrasi Sarpong explained that every airline had its own profiling service and “what is important is the type of standard operating procedures at Aviance. Every airline has its own profiling service and in this particular case, for Virgin Airlines, it was airport profiling and security services which is run by somebody whom I’m told was working once as a manager of Emirates in Ghana.”

“We have said it over and over again that when they are employing these guys, the law doesn’t ask them to come to NACOB to clear anybody. I don’t think NACOB has that capacity but that capacity at least is important for NACOB to find out whether the guys they are employing have a certain record in drugs on our record. They don’t do that and that for me is very sad,” he explained further.

He noted also that all the national security operatives at the cargo gates had certain responsibilities which were supervised. However, for some reasons he said, “the CEPS officials try to guide it unnecessarily without sometimes the necessary corporation.”

Be it as it may, Mr Akrasi Sarpong gave details on how his men failed to turn up at work on the day that the consignment was prepared to be flown out of Ghana.

In his own words he said, “On this issue, on that fateful day, this airport profiling security company, they are responsible to the airline; the airline chose them because the airline wants to be sure that every single item that gets onto the plane is checked by the profiling company. And unless they sign and give documentation, the airline wouldn’t take responsibility for it.”

“So on this fateful day, the supervisor of my officers for some reasons has been asking them to go... when they are supposed to be working up to six o’clock in the morning... they are supposed to work from 6pm to 6am in the morning but for some reasons these guys...not that day in particular, but that day inclusive, previously, contrary to instructions that... I mean I should normally not be going there to give those instructions... but last year sometime, I instructed that they should be sleeping there and even got them mattresses and told the supervisors that look, you must get these guys to sleep there because these airlines have been made to go very early in the morning.”

“For some strange reasons people start processing things at 2am to 4am and if there was strict regulations at the place, they should stop that early processing and say look, start the processing at 6 or something,” he added.

In his point of view, the arrangement at the Aviance Cargo Village has made it difficult for his officers to thoroughly check items before they are loaded.

“I’m saying that it is the arrangement at Aviance that has to be critically looked at. People don’t believe NACOB because we are in charge of that. That is none of my business because I don’t shy away from responsibility and I’m not going to blame anybody but I’m saying that the whole arrangement at Aviance has to be looked at critically,” he stated.