Pubdate: Thu, 27 Mar 2008
Source: Daily Graphic (Ghana)
Copyright: 2008 Graphic Communications Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.graphicghana.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3662

CORRUPTION, LACK OF RESOURCES HAMPER FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

US State Department says corruption and lack of resources are 
seriously impeding Ghana's efforts to deal with the drug menace.

It observed that the 2006 narcotics scandal involving allegations of 
official complicity in narcotics trafficking complicated "Ghana's 
efforts to combat the drug trade but served to focus public attention 
on the growing problem".

"Ghana made limited progress in 2007 in addressing its legislative 
and enforcement deficiencies brought into the public eye by the 2006 
narcotics scandals, and a long road lies ahead," it stated.

These were contained in the 2008 International Narcotics Control 
Strategy Report (INCSR) issued by the Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the State Department.

It noted that the government created a special commission after the 
scandal, which identified several policy recommendations to lessen 
the chances of similar scandals in the future "but, to date, the 
government has acted on only a handful of the recommendations".

It said Ghana's interest in attracting investment provided a good 
cover for foreign drug barons to enter the country under the guise of 
doing legitimate business.

According to the report, in 2007, South American traffickers reduced 
their need to visit Ghana in person by increasing reliance on local 
partners, thus insulating themselves from possible arrest by law 
enforcement officials.

"Law enforcement officials have repeatedly raised concerns that 
narcotics rings are growing in size, strength, organisation and 
capacity for violence," it noted.

It expressed regret that since 1999, the Attorney-General's Office 
had not acted on proposals by the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to 
amend the 1990 narcotics law to fund NACOB's operations, using a 
portion of seized properties.

The report pointed out that the primary problem remained Ghana's 
long, relatively unpatrolled coastline.

"Law enforcement officials report that traffickers are increasingly 
exploiting Ghana's relatively unguarded and porous maritime border, 
offloading large shipments at sea onto small fishing vessels which 
carry the drugs to shore undetected," it said.

It, therefore, called for the enhancement of sea interdiction and the 
surveillance capabilities of Ghana's security agencies to deal with 
the problem of narcotic drugs in the country.

"These initiatives will require significant re-allocation of 
resources and a sustained political commitment, and it remains to be 
seen whether Ghanaian officials have the political will to see them 
through," it noted.

The report said the narcotics were often repackaged in Ghana for 
reshipment, hidden in shipping containers or air cargo, while large 
shipments were also often broken up into small amounts to be hidden 
on individuals travelling by passenger aircraft.

It said officials at UK airports found that the total tonnage of 
trafficked narcotics seized from passengers on flights originating in 
Ghana eclipsed those from Nigeria in 2006.

It said it was in partial response to that trend that the British 
Government launched a programme deploying experienced U.K. customs 
officers and state-of-the-art ion scan detection equipment at the 
Kotoka International Airport.

"From the programme's inception in November 2006 to September 2007, 
it has seized nearly 350 kg of cocaine; 2,200kg of cannabis and one 
kilogramme of heroin," it said.

According to the report, there was no hard evidence that drugs 
transiting Ghana contributed to any extent to the supply of drugs to 
the U.S. market.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom