Deputy Director General of NACOC, Twum Barima
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has assured the public that all intercepted cocaine will be handled with integrity and properly disposed of once legal proceedings conclude.
Deputy Director General of NACOC, Twum Barima, emphasised the commission’s commitment to transparency, dismissing past controversies where seized drugs allegedly “disappeared” or were tampered with.
“These are men of integrity, men who will not bend any curve. Under Mahama, you will not hear this cock-and-bull story that a substance left our exhibit room, came back, and turned into something else,” he said on The Key Points on TV3, Saturday, April 26, 2025.
Barima explained that intercepted cocaine is securely stored in exhibit rooms until courts issue directives for disposal. The drugs are then incinerated under strict supervision to prevent any diversion.
“You keep them until the matter comes to a close. If tomorrow you are asked to produce them as an exhibit, what do you do?
“So we keep them until the court gives further and better directives. We have exhibit rooms where we keep them.
“We cannot unilaterally destroy the drugs because they serve as evidence in court. Once the case concludes, we burn them under heavy security,” he clarified.
The discussion followed concerns raised by private legal practitioner and NDC member Abraham Amaliba, who urged authorities to disclose how seized narcotics are disposed of.
“I think they need to tell us how these drugs are disposed of. I want to know what happened to the earlier consignment. Have they been destroyed?” Amaliba questioned.
While commending recent drug busts, Amaliba criticised the previous administration’s record, asking, “If these arrests are happening in just three months, what were the security agencies doing in the past eight years?”
On April 23, NACOC intercepted 73 slabs of suspected cocaine (weighing 89.74kg) concealed in a cargo shipment at the Swiss Port. Four suspects were arrested while allegedly preparing to export the drugs to the Netherlands.
The bust was part of intelligence-led efforts to combat drug trafficking through Ghana’s ports.
ID/MA
You can also watch as Mahama orders his bodyguard to stop harassing journalists