Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, urged Ghanaian authorities on October 3, 2026, to identify the individuals and entities financing cocaine shipments linked to the country. He said that arresting couriers alone was insufficient to curb the growing narcotics problem.
Speaking at the NPP’s National Delegates Conference at Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Bawumia highlighted that Ghanaians need to know who is behind the financing and organisation of the consignments and how they continue to pass through Ghana’s ports undetected. He warned that the country’s name is being dragged through European ports as drugs are seized abroad.
Bawumia’s remarks come after a series of international seizures. French customs seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the northern port of Dunkirk on September 10, a container of plastic waste arriving from Ghana that was valued at about €225 million (US$261.45 million). The shipment was reportedly destined in part for Antwerp, Belgium, and French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the suspected criminal network.
He added that the government’s response has been meetings rather than results, insisting that Ghanaians want to know who is financing these shipments and how they keep getting through.
Authorities have yet to announce concrete steps beyond the seizure, and Bawumia’s call for deeper investigations signals a potential shift in the country’s drug‑trafficking strategy.
