Narcotics Control Board makes 57 arrests in 10 months
The Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), between January and October this year, arrested 57 drug traffickers for narcotic-related offences.
The suspects were found to be in possession of 28 kilogrammes (kgs) of cocaine, 6.3 kgs of heroin, 140 kgs cannabis and 4kgs of methamphetamine.
Out of the number of people arrested, 39 were Ghanaians and 18 foreigners, while seven were females.
According to NACOB officials, the arrests were effected at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and other entry points, while others were carried out through the collaborative effort of informants who had become a vital entity to the board’s operations.
The Executive Secretary of NACOB, Mr Yaw Akrasi-Sarpong, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in an interview.
According to him, 51 narcotic cases involving 43 people were sent to court during the period under review, with one conviction secured so far, while an additional 27 cases were pending trial.
Also, six persons were granted police enquiry bail, with six others released on court bail, while two were discharged for lack of evidence.
Investigations into an additional four cases were also underway, he said.
Mr Akrasi-Sarpong said following the sophisticated means being employed now by criminal gangs using technology, NACOB had similarly intensified an advanced form of profiling travellers, particularly those from known risk areas, as a way of clamping down on traffickers and couriers.
Similarly, he said, couriers had now adopted a modern and sophisticated cycle of concealment, with drugs sometimes being concealed in embroidery works of African print sewn dresses, while some were often hidden in lobsters, okra, handles of travelling bags, among other means, to outwit officials.
“Some traffickers also sometimes soak the drugs in wet towels, with most female traffickers concealing them in their panties, as checks are hardly conducted into such sensitive areas,” he disclosed.
The executive secretary, however, lamented the inadequacies with successive governments’ commitment to the fight against narcotics, saying, “You will be surprised that most criminal gangs engaged in such activities have powerful links in various governments, thus making the law courts let them loose whenever they are arrested.”
“The country may become ungovernable in the next 10 to 15 years if adequate provisions are not made for robust regulations to contain drug and sophisticated criminal gang activities,” he said.
Mr Akrasi-Sarpong, however, expressed optimism that the adoption of new technologies by the board, as well as increased surveillance at land border posts, would go to improve the situation tremendously.
Source: Daily Graphic