The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Professor Ransford Edward Gyampo, has questioned the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) handling of its allegations that clandestine laboratories for processing illicit drugs are operating in Ghana.
Prof. Gyampo, in two separate posts on Facebook, challenged the opposition party to explain why it would publicly raise claims about alleged drug-processing facilities without, according to him, first submitting the information to the appropriate state agencies for immediate investigation and action.
His comments come amid growing public concern over Ghana’s role in the international narcotics trade following a series of major cocaine seizures involving consignments reportedly linked to the country.
The latest controversy was triggered by claims made by NPP National Organiser Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, at a press conference on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
According to Mr Boakye, intelligence gathered by the NPP suggests that international drug traffickers have established bases and laboratories in Ghana for processing illicit drugs before they are exported.
“The intelligence we have picked is that these drug lords, these traffickers, they have established bases, laboratories here for processing of illicit drugs and narcotics under the watch of President Mahama,” he said.
The NPP has further alleged that the scale of narcotics trafficking through Ghana’s borders and ports raises questions about the effectiveness of existing security and cargo-inspection systems.
The party has linked its concerns to recent international drug seizures involving consignments traced to Ghana and has called for accountability within institutions responsible for port operations, customs, maritime security, narcotics control and intelligence.
Reacting to the allegations, Prof. Gyampo questioned the decision to make claims about alleged drug laboratories at a press conference rather than immediately providing the purported intelligence to law-enforcement and security agencies.
In his first Facebook post, he wrote:
“It is nation-wrecking to be reliably informed about drug labs in Ghana and merely conjecture about it in a fake Press Conference without reporting it to the appropriate agencies for swift action.”
He added:
“This strategy cant even win an internal election.”
Prof. Gyampo’s comments suggest that, in his view, credible information about active narcotics-processing facilities should be treated first as actionable intelligence requiring intervention by the relevant state institutions.
His remarks also add to an emerging debate over the distinction between making public allegations about drug trafficking and providing specific intelligence that could assist law-enforcement agencies in disrupting alleged criminal networks.
The NDC’s Deputy Director of Elections and IT, Rashid Tanko-Computer, has also urged those making claims about alleged clandestine drug operations to provide relevant information to the security agencies for investigation.
In a second Facebook post, Prof. Gyampo said the government would confront the narcotics threat but questioned some of the arguments being advanced by its critics.
“Govt would confront this menace head-on,” he wrote.
He then raised questions about previous decisions concerning narcotics control and physical inspection of cargo, as well as a recent drug-related case involving a sitting Member of Parliament.
“But, you don’t turn cocaine into kokonte; withdraw narcotics control from physical inspection of cargo; & get your sitting MP busted for cocaine & still insist on a right to open your buccal cavity on these matters,” he stated.
The reference to a sitting MP and cocaine follows a separate narcotics-related case that has attracted political attention.
The comments, however, were made in the context of Prof. Gyampo’s broader criticism of the handling of the narcotics debate.
The debate has intensified following the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk in France on September 10, 2026.
The drugs were reportedly concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana. French authorities estimated the value of the seized cocaine at about €225 million.
The seizure has subsequently triggered investigations in Ghana, with several people facing criminal proceedings over their alleged links to the consignment.
Six accused persons are reportedly denied bail by the Kwabenya Circuit Court as investigations continued. Four of those facing scrutiny are reported to have links to the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division at Tema Port.
The case has increased pressure on agencies responsible for preventing the movement of narcotics through Ghana’s ports and has renewed questions about cargo inspection, intelligence-sharing and institutional oversight.
The NPP has argued that the recent seizures should not be treated as isolated incidents.
At its September 22 press conference, the party called for the removal of heads of institutions involved in port operations, customs, maritime security, narcotics control and intelligence.
Mr Boakye also backed calls for Parliament to be recalled to consider the issue and establish a bipartisan investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recent drug seizures.
The NPP says the alleged existence of drug-processing laboratories, coupled with repeated seizures of Ghana-linked consignments abroad, points to a broader narcotics-trafficking challenge that requires urgent state intervention.
The party has, however, yet to publicly identify the alleged laboratories or provide publicly verifiable evidence establishing their locations and operators.
The controversy has placed Ghana’s narcotics-control framework under renewed scrutiny.
Among the issues being debated are the effectiveness of cargo inspection at the country’s ports, the role of customs and other security agencies in detecting narcotics, intelligence-sharing among state institutions, and the mechanisms available for acting on information about suspected drug-trafficking networks.
The NPP’s demand for institutional changes and a parliamentary inquiry contrasts with Prof. Gyampo’s emphasis on the need for anyone possessing credible intelligence about alleged drug laboratories to submit it to the appropriate authorities for action.
At the centre of the dispute, therefore, is not only the allegation that clandestine drug laboratories may exist in Ghana, but also the question of how such intelligence should be handled and investigated.
The allegations concerning the existence and operation of clandestine drug laboratories remain claims and would require independent investigation and evidence to establish them.
By 1960news.com
