Pubdate: Thu, 1 Aug 2002 Source: Ghanaian Chronicle (GH) Contact: 2002 Ghanaian Chronicle Website: http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2455 Author: Arahaeal O. Amakye MORE THAN 1,000 ARRESTS MADE OVER DRUG TRAFFICKING LAST YEAR Analysis of the Narcotic Control Board indicates that the number of people arrested for drug trafficking has considerably increased from 982 as at the year 2000 to 1056 in the year 2001, while about 1182 patients have been admitted at the Accra, Pantang, and Ankaful Psychriatic hospitals, all told, for the abuse of drugs. Mr. S. Addo, the Narcotic Officer of the board, intimated to the Chronicle in an exclusive interview yesterday that convicts are normally arrested for cannabis ( wee), since it is also the most abused drugs by addicts, particularly the youth. He noted that drug trafficking threatens everything that is decent in the country, adding that thus justice, economic, social and cultural systems are being perverted and destroyed by the few greedy people and their agents. Asked how they go about their arrest, he told Chronicle that they organise a raid exercise to arrest people engaged in drug trafficking when they gather intelligence from people who are into the drug trafficking business or arrest people on tip-off from people, adding that they do profiling of travellers to detect in them. In order to minimise the abuse of drugs, Mr. Addo said the board has a demand reduction unit which visits schools, institutions, and churches to sensitise and educate students on the effects of drugs and how to prevent it. According to him, they teach them how to stop the use of the drugs, as well as what it does to the body, adding that they also influence people to change their minds towards drugs when they want to go into it. Chronicle was told that some people get into it through the influence of friends, as they are told that they will acquire a lot of knowledge when they take in the drugs, while others get into it out of ignorance. The board, Mr. Addo, said has a supply reduction unit which checks on people who smuggle the drugs into the country and those who send the drugs abroad to sell. When asked the difference between drug abuse and drug trafficking, Chronicle learnt that drug abuse is the misuse of drugs, while drug trafficking is involves people sending the drugs abroad or smuggling the drugs into the country. He also said the farmers in the country cultivate the cannibis and sell it to people elsewhere, thus he said this is a form of drug trafficking . Drug traffickers, he said, buy cocaine from South America, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru, as they also buy the heroin from Afghanistan, Pakistan , Thailand interalia. Chronicle gathered from the Ministry of Interior that by current estimates the value of drug trafficking in the world is about a fourth of global world trade, while those engaged in the nefarious business range from individual entrepreneurs to well-financed organisations. The Government of Ghana is in this light has welcomed the West Africa Joint Operations ( WAJO) to help pursue developmental agenda without wasting substances in fighting crime, it was learnt. It also stressed on the need to build a justice infrastructure that will respond and prosecute drug traffickers and also outlaw drug trafficking organisations through active co-operation with government.