NewzLawyer and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has described the reported seizure of a large cocaine consignment in France after it allegedly passed through Ghana as “scandalous,” saying the development brings embarrassment to the country. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Mr Bentil said the incident raises serious questions about how a consignment reportedly weighing about four tonnes of narcotics could leave Ghana without being intercepted by the authorities and subsequently be detected in France. It disgraces all of us.” He said the development was particularly troubling because Ghana is often portrayed as a stable and well-governed country within the West African region.
“Most of the time people are happy that we are a haven in West Africa, we are a well-governed country, that kind of thing and me, I push that.” However, he said incidents involving large-scale drug trafficking undermine that image. “When these things happen, that’s what they talk about.” Mr Bentil stressed that the issue should not be treated merely as a drug seizure abroad but as a matter requiring serious questions about Ghana’s own systems of security and accountability. “The people in authority who are supposed to catch this thing must answer the question.” He questioned how such a large quantity of narcotics could allegedly pass through Ghana’s ports without detection.
“This consignment passed through our ports with all the gadgets and nobody saw it.” Mr Bentil said the circumstances are particularly concerning because, unlike smaller quantities of drugs that smugglers may conceal in their bodies or secret compartments, a shipment of several tonnes would require a substantial logistical operation. “If somebody is exporting tonnes of it, then the person expects that it will go through.” He added: “The person expects that the people who are supposed to check will not check.” According to Mr Bentil, this raises questions about whether individuals within the system may have facilitated or overlooked the shipment. “The person expects that they will have the complicity of the system.” He said the fact that the shipment allegedly left Ghana before being intercepted elsewhere makes the situation even more troubling.
“It worked because he wasn’t arrested in Ghana.” Mr Bentil therefore called for those responsible for the relevant security and inspection … Lawyer and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has questioned the purpose of President John Dramani Mahama’s meetings with security officials following the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine linked to Ghana. Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 19, Mr Bentil said the focus should be on establishing how a consignment of such magnitude was able to leave Ghana before being intercepted by French authorities.
“The President is trying to have meetings with the same people. I don’t know where he’s trying to go,” he said. French customs seized the consignment at the Port of Dunkirk on September 10.
The suspected cocaine, concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had departed from Ghana, was valued at about €225 million. Mr Bentil said the circumstances surrounding the shipment raised questions about possible failures within Ghana’s port and border-control systems, particularly given the quantity involved. He argued that the shipment could not simply be treated as an isolated failure and called for those responsible for screening and clearing the container to account for what happened.
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