Ghana is major transit point for cocaine - UN report

Ghana has been named among the top transit points for cocaine in the world according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

According to the World Drug Report 2016, the West African region in general had become a major passage point for cocaine from South America en route to Europe.

The report said between the five year period; 2009-2014, “the proportion of the total cocaine seizures in Africa accounted for by West Africa rose to 78 per cent.”

The largest amounts seized were in Cape Verde, followed by the Gambia, Nigeria and Ghana with Brazil identified as the source of the illegal shipment.

“Of the cocaine shipments leaving Ghana, 61 per cent left the country by boat and 39 per cent by air”, the report found.

The illegal drugs trade in Ghana has for a long time been rumored to be spearheaded by politicians. In 2005, a Member of Parliament; Eric Amoateng was arrested for the possession of heroin believed to be worth six million dollars.

Early on in 2016, David McDermott, a British fugitive linked to a drugs gang was arrested in Ghana. He had settled in the country for years and has been married to the daughter of the former governor of the Bank of Ghana.

Key findings from the report