UN Office of Drugs and Crime donates 2 patrol boats to Ghana Marine Police

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime [UNODC] with funding from the government of Japan has handed over two patrol boats known as “alligator boats” to the Ghana Marine Police unit in Tema.

The donation is part of a broader project worth $629,000 to support maritime law enforcement in the fight against maritime crime in the sub region particularly in Ghana, Liberia and Serra Leone.

The Japan Ambassador to Ghana, Tsutomu Himeno said Japan is interested in ensuring peace and stability in the oceans as the sea serves as a major means of economic cooperation among nations.

“Maritime security is indispensable not only for the safety of the people, security of the people, but also for greater trade and investment relations for Ghana, with other countries.”

The Inspector General of Police, David Asante Appeatu congratulated the government of Japan and UNODC for their massive support to the Police Service over the years.

He said the police administration is committed to enhancing its operational capabilities, revamping the CID and making community policing a key policing intervention towards crime prevention and community safety.

“In enhancing our operational capabilities, we are mindful of the important role the onshore and offshore security, can play in our integrated approach. Therefore this support from the Japan government facilitated by UNODC, two reliable partners for years could not have come at a better time,” he opined.

The IGP used the ceremony to make an appeal to individuals, organizations and agencies to consider in their annual budgets some space within their corporate social responsibilities to support the Police.



“Security is a shared responsibility, and if we tackle it collectively we will be secured individually. The Ghana Police Service will continue to build our successes upon our successes, as we look at providing the needed security both physically and virtually,” he said.