A criminologist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Jones Opoku-Ware, has called on Ghana to tighten border security, strengthen family values, and expand community support systems to tackle the country’s growing drug problem. Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, July 27, during a discussion about the JoyNews Hotline documentary, Deadly Doses II, Dr Opoku-Ware said Ghana’s drug problem had evolved into a national crisis that requires more than law enforcement. Responding to a question on what could be done to solve the problem and restore sanity to the system, he said the country needed a coordinated response involving multiple sectors.
“So, you know, this drug issue in this country. I think it’s a multi-sectoral approach that has to be employed,” he said. Dr Opoku-Ware said one of the first steps should be to disrupt the operations of international drug trafficking syndicates exploiting Ghana’s weak border controls.
According to him, intelligence and research show that transnational criminal networks are working closely with local groups to move drugs into the country through poorly secured borders. “We must begin looking at what we call the transnational cartels because, as it were, based on intelligence and based on studies, we know that when it comes to the movement of drugs in this country, the borders are porous,” he said. He explained that the porous nature of Ghana’s borders had made it easier for drug traffickers to transport illegal substances while making the work of security agencies much more difficult.
“Because the borders are very porous, it has enabled these transnational cartels to work with certain local cartels within the country to move these drugs across our borders in a very, very easy way. Ways that it becomes very difficult for even the security agencies to track.” The criminologist said some of the trafficking networks have links to Nigeria, Latin America and parts of Asia. He cited Tramadol as one example of a drug that has been known to enter Ghana from countries such as India.
“At this stage, we may have to find a way to seal this porousness of our borders so we can track these movements of the cartels and then have a firm grip on them,” he added. Beyond border security, Dr Opoku-Ware said Ghana must examine the role of families in preventing young people from abusing drugs. “It is not just a criminal act as we probably used to have it sometimes, but now it is becoming a public or, in fact, it’s even become a public health crisis for which all of us as a country have to be very worried about,” he said.
According to him, one of the most worrying developments is the rapid evolution of the illegal drug trade, with traffickers and users adopting new methods that are harder for authorities to monitor. “I think that what is even more worrying is the fact that over the years, there seems to be a gradual shift in the way we used to know substance abuse and drug dealings in the country,” he said. Dr Opoku-Ware explained that while drug trafficking in the past followed patterns that security agencies could monitor to some extent, the situation has changed dramatically.
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