NACOC's logistics crisis undermining fight against drug trafficking – MP

Effia MP Isaac Boamah-Nyarko has raised concerns about severe funding and logistical challenges facing the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), saying the gaps are undermining the fight against drug trafficking in Ghana.

Boamah-Nyarko said NACOC lacks adequate laboratory facilities to test suspected narcotics seized during operations and is therefore forced to rely on third-party laboratories.

He also pointed to shortages of vehicles and weapons, particularly at the commission’s offices in Takoradi.

“They don’t have vehicles to be able to go and chase. The total fleet of vehicles across the country is about 26, 27, and they are not in good condition,” he said on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily.

He added: “If you go to Takoradi and you check their armoury, they don’t even have weapons. So you are chasing people who are dealing in drugs, who are heavily armed, and you don’t have all of these logistics.”

According to Boamah-Nyarko, NACOC’s budgetary allocations have also been reduced over the years, leaving the commission without the basic equipment and resources needed to carry out its mandate.

He said a parliamentary probe was necessary to examine these institutional challenges and determine how they could be addressed.

“If you don’t have a parliamentary probe or inquiry and deal with these issues frontally, then the Executive will continue to do the same. The probe is to look at the institutional lapses and the real issues,” he said.