The Narcotics Control Commission is defending its NACOC controlled delivery strategy, explaining that keeping drug couriers completely in the dark during undercover operations is essential for busting wider international cartels and exposing security gaps at home.
Deputy Director Alexander Barimah Twum addressed growing public debate on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, November 7, following the intercept of 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport on a flight out of Accra.
Catching Kingpins, Not Just Mules
Twum made no apologies for allowing a suspect to board an international flight with narcotics, arguing that arresting a low-level courier early ruins chances of catching the kingpins funding the operation.
"When we are doing controlled delivery on you, you, the individual, are kept in the dark and you don't know what is happening," Twum said, stressing that secrecy is the cornerstone of effective international narcotics operations.
He noted that controlled delivery serves a double purpose. It exposes the actual organizers managing drug cartels and helps NACOC audit its own airport screening systems to patch loopholes that criminals try to exploit.
Three Arrested in Accra
Public backlash intensified after critics questioned why Ghanaian authorities let a drug-laden consignment leave Kotoka International Airport. NACOC maintains the movement was monitored continuously as part of a coordinated sting.
The strategy has already produced local results, with Ghanaian security agencies arresting three foreign nationals in Accra linked to the Beirut shipment. Investigations remain ongoing to dismantle the rest of the trafficking ring.
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