Lawyer and lecturer at the Ghana School of Law, Lenin Nicholas Anane Agyei, cautioned that a spike in drug seizures may indicate that narcotics traffickers are beginning to see Ghana as an easy route for illicit drugs. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 26, he said lapses in the country’s systems must be addressed, arguing that the government, having been in office for two years, must take responsibility for identifying and closing existing security gaps.
“There have been some lapses in our system, and so regardless of how you want to look at it, those lapses happened under this government, and so somebody must be responsible for it under this government,” he said. He added that security and narcotics authorities are expected not only to oversee existing systems but also to regularly evaluate them, identify weaknesses and introduce measures to prevent their exploitation.
Mr Anane Agyei warned that attempts to shift responsibility would not address the fundamental problem. “The government has been in office for two years, and so any attempt to shift blame in terms of who should be responsible should not be washed,” he said. He argued that the volume of narcotics intercepted within a relatively short period should prompt authorities to examine whether drug trafficking networks have identified weaknesses in Ghana’s systems.
“Whatever the reason is, these drug cartels are beginning to identify Ghana as an easy place to send drugs through. And that is why we are having these volumes of drugs within this short period,” he said. Beyond the immediate security concerns, Mr Anane Agyei warned that the situation could have significant consequences for Ghana’s international reputation and economy. He said repeated drug interceptions and concerns over trafficking could lead foreign jurisdictions to subject Ghanaian exports and travellers to heightened scrutiny.
“The reputational damage that occurs as a result of that perception is very serious. More importantly, it has an impact on our economy, because we have exporters of genuine products now going to experience heightened inspection in foreign jurisdictions,” he said. Mr Anane Agyei stressed the need for authorities to identify weaknesses within the existing system and take responsibility for closing them to protect Ghana’s security, international reputation and economic interests.
