Ghana Police up to the task in the drug war

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) David Selom Hukportie, the Head of Drug Law Enforcement Unit (DLEU) of the Ghana Police Service, has described as formidable the challenges confronting his outfit in the fight against the growing marijuana trade in Ghana.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, DSP Hukportie indicated that the fight was like “trying to kill a swarm of flies with one’s bare hands”, and that Ghana had become a source country for the supply of the substance.

He said farms had been cultivated deep in Ghanaian forests where the substance was produced on a large scale, and then found its way into the larger society.

“As such the war against marijuana seems to be getting out of hand,” he stated, citing the Volta, Brong Ahafo and Eastern regions as notable areas for the cultivation of the substance.

He said the police would continue to conduct raids in these areas to destroy the farms and arrest the culprits involved, but complained about inadequate resources at the disposal of his outfit to do such a job.

The DSP said the fight against narcotics in Ghana should be a collective one involving all stakeholders, including the civilian population.

He added that the DLEU of the Ghana Police Service was doing its part in fighting the drug war despite the challenges and that this was evident in the tremendous efforts by the Police this year which had resulted in a lot of arrests.

He cited the busting of Evans Dadzie, a notorious ‘wee bitters’ producer in Tema, who was caught with huge quantities of marijuana in his possession.

DSP Hukportie also mentioned the arrest of one Irene Nyamebuo, also a wee peddler in Accra, in November. “Mention can also be made of a couple in Assin Fosu, Aikins Opoku and Betty Aboagye, who were also caught with large quantities of Marijuana. These are just a few,” he indicated.

He said the police was doing its best to combat crime and, therefore, urged members of the public to put their confidence in the police.

On the growing phenomenon of ‘wee bitters’ patronage, DSP Hukportie said that the police were aware of such joints and had started eliminating them.

He explained that the fact that the substance was usually mixed with alcohol drinks did not make it less of an offense, because according to the narcotics law, any trace of the active ingredient of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in it made it a narcotic and any one in possession of the substance was liable to prosecution.

The DSP indicated that even though the war against marijuana was a tough one, the Police Service was doing everything within its power to flush out those involved so as to free the society from that menace.