Parliament Recall Over 3.9-Tonne Cocaine Shipment Is “Legitimate and Necessary” – Catholic Bishops
ACCRA – The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has thrown its weight behind calls for Parliament to be recalled from recess to investigate Ghana’s response to drug trafficking, describing the move as “legitimate and necessary.”
In a press statement issued on Monday, September 21, the Conference said Parliament’s oversight role must be exercised to establish whether existing systems for detecting and preventing narcotics trafficking at Ghana’s ports and borders are adequate.
The call follows the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French Customs authorities at Dunkirk on September 10. The consignment, concealed in a container of plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana and was destined for Antwerp, Belgium, has an estimated street value of £225 million ($305 million).
The Bishops welcomed a memorandum submitted by more than 40 Members of Parliament on September 18, invoking Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament’s Standing Orders, seeking the recall of the House to examine the circumstances surrounding the shipment.
“We welcome Parliament’s exercise of its oversight function,” the statement said, adding that the proposed sitting is “a legitimate and necessary step.”
*Avoid Partisan Point-Scoring – Bishops*
While backing the recall, the GCBC cautioned against politicizing the matter.
“We urge that any sitting proceed without delay, with the sobriety proper to a matter of this gravity rather than partisan point-scoring, and that every institution cooperate fully and transparently,” the Bishops stated.
The Conference wants the Ministers for the Interior, Transport and National Security, together with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Immigration Service and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to account for the adequacy of scanning, surveillance and clearance procedures at the country’s entry points.
*A Wider Pattern*
According to the MPs’ memorandum cited by the Bishops, the Dunkirk seizure is not isolated. It listed a series of incidents since March 2025, including:
– A 3.3-tonne cocaine haul concealed under sand in a tipper truck at Pedu Junction, Cape Coast
– Cocaine seizures on the Takoradi-Cape Coast highway
– Hundreds of parcels discovered in sacks of gari at Tema Harbour
– An unresolved Gran Canaria flight case
– A vessel released after a partial fine payment that was later arrested abroad with narcotics
– Methamphetamine concealed in charcoal intercepted by Australian authorities
The memorandum estimates that seizures linked to Ghana in the last two years exceed US$1 billion in street value.
Data from NACOC, referenced in the memo, shows 217 arrests, 165 prosecutions, 8.5 tonnes of narcotics seized and 45.4 million tramadol tablets intercepted over the period.
*Follow The Money*
The Bishops stressed that investigations must go beyond couriers to financiers, complicit businesses and officials. They pointed to the arrest in March 2026 of nine public officers over undeclared tramadol at Tema Port as evidence of possible institutional complicity.
The Conference described the narcotics trade as a moral crisis that “steals the soul of our nation” and erodes public institutions.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has directed the country’s security agencies to develop a comprehensive blueprint to enhance inter-agency collaboration and strengthen Ghana’s response to drug trafficking and related security threats.
The Minority in Parliament has said the recall is urgent due to the national security implications of Ghana potentially being exploited as a transit point for international drug cartels.
