NACOB receives equipment

Accra, July 16, GNA - Ghana moved a notch higher in the quest to quell the menace of drug trafficking as the government of the United Kingdom on Wednesday donated a state-of-the-art equipment to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to recover narcotic substances concealed in the stomach or anus of couriers.

The equipment - Frost Machine - valued at 15,000 pounds sterling is the second of such facility in use in the world and the first in Africa. The other one is at Terminal Five of Heathrow Airport in the UK. The facility, which has been installed at the premises of the NACOB, would enable NACOB in the delivery and the process of expelling narcotics from people busted for the crime in the most hygienic way, as well ensure the safety of suspects and the health those who operate the facility.


One means of concealing narcotics from West Africa to Europe is by swallowing it in the form of pellets or pushing the pellets into the anus to outwit security.


Mr Ben Botchway, Executive Secretary of NACOB, said before the Frost Machine was installed, the board had to make do with other facilities that posed health risk to both suspects and operatives of the NACOB.

He expressed appreciation to the UK for the facility, saying, "this is a boost to our work". Mr Nicholas Westgate, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, who handed the facility over to the NACOB, noted that the narcotics trade was a scourge that needed cooperation between nations to combat. He said the drugs menace was a constant struggle that, "you cannot solve overnight", and expressed optimism that it would be a step to solving the problem.


The High Commissioner said his country was keen to assist Ghana fight the menace, adding, "We wish to continue sending experts to Ghana to help". The UK government is also assisting in arresting drug couriers at the Kotoka International Airport through Operation Westbridge project.