Special operation to arrest illicit drug dealers

The Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) in collaboration with the security agencies, will soon mount a special operation to clamp down on people involved in drug cultivation and trafficking.

Major Abdul Braimah (RTD), Deputy Executive Secretary of NACOB, who announced this on Friday in Accra, said the operation has been planned following reports of increased illicit drug activity in border towns such as Elebu, Aflao and Sampa.

Major Braimah was speaking at the end of a five-day workshop for 22 police and NACOB personnel on evidence handling of narcotic drugs.

The workshop, the second to be held this year, was on the role of forensic laboratory in drug analysis, presentation of evidence in court, writing of procedures and the proper use of field test kits.

Major Braimah called for the co-operation of security officials to make the impending operation successful.

He underscored the importance of the workshop, saying the knowledge acquired by the personnel would ensure the successful prosecution of offenders.

Major Braimah said it was important to recognise the drug menace as a threat to national economic growth rather than just a security risk.

Justice Isaac Duose, Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal, urged the participants to extend their knowledge to cover the handling of crimes such as prostitution and armed robbery, which he described as offshoots of drug activities.

The participants said the workshop has enhanced their ability to identify the various illicit drugs, even when they are disguised.

They called for logistics like field test kits and vehicles to facilitate their work.

From January to the first week of August, 67 drug traffickers including foreigners were arrested some of whom are being prosecuted in the courts.

Ghana News Agency investigation showed that the foreign traffickers were couriers from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Mali and South Africa apparently recruited by drug barons some of them entering Ghana with fake passports.

They use Ghana as transit point and charge fees ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 dollars.

But statistics gathered so far this year indicate a drop in the number of cases as compared to last year when 981 cases were recorded.

The investigation showed that cannabis (in pic) still dominates the drug scene followed by cocaine and heroine. Cannabis is the commonest drug because it can be grown anywhere in the country.