WikiLeaks: Mills concerned some in govt in drugs trade

President Atta Mills was concerned about drug trafficking and corruption within his own government, the Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Wednesday, citing U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks.

President John Atta Mills was reported by the U.S. ambassador to Ghana as saying that anti-drug activities at Accra airport had also been sabotaged by narcotics control officers.

"The President told the Ambassador that he knows elements of his government are already compromised and that officials at the airport tipped off drug traffickers about operations there," Ambassador Donald Teitelbaum said in the June 2009 cable.

The head of a British anti-drug campaign in Ghana told the U.S ambassador that Mills was worried about drug problems within his own entourage, and wanted to avoid the embarrassment of seeing them caught by airport officers when heading out of the country.

"...Mills wants these officials to be checked in the privacy of his suite (at the airport) to avoid any surprises if they are caught carrying drugs," another cable to Washington from Teitelbaum said in November 2009.

Drug flights from South America to Europe through West African countries have became common in the last three years and officials have seized ton-sized quantities of cocaine.