Also known as: Brig Gen. Mantey · Brig Gen Mantey · Brig. Gen. Mantey · Mr Mantey · Director-General of NACOC · Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission · Maj. Gen. Maxwell Obuba Mantey · Major-General Mantey · Major-General Maxwell Obuba Mantey · Brigadier General Maxwell Obuaba Mantey · Maxwell Obuaba Mantey
Director-General of Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission leading drug enforcement and cross-border cooperation efforts across Africa.
News reports
Order a long-term news report on Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey
Every mention in the Ghanaian press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
The Ghanaian Times
… Speaking at the event on Friday, the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, commended the participating schools for demonstrating a high level of knowledge on drug abuse prevention and control. …
Accra Girls SHS wins 2026 NACOC Inter-Schools Quiz CompetitionThe Chronicle
… At a strategic engagement with the Standing Committee of the National House of Chiefs on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, underscored the urgent need for a united national response to what he described as an escalati …
NACOC Enlists National House of Chiefs in Renewed Fight Against Rising Drug AbuseJoy Online
… The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, is expected to be the Guest of Honour, while the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, will lead the commission’s participation in the event. …
NACOC to commemorate International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit traffickingJoy Online
… The call was made when the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, accompanied by his deputy and members of the Commission’s management team, paid a courtesy call on the leadership of the GJA at the International Press Centre in Accra on Wednesday, June …
NACOC partners GJA to combat substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in GhanaJoy Online
… The exercise, initiated by the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, brings together scientific analysts from the GSA and forensic experts from NACOC’s Forensic Unit to conduct detailed testing and verification of all seized narcotics scheduled for de …
NACOC, GSA begin scientific testing of seized drugs ahead of 2026 World Drug Day destructionJoy Online
… The Chief Imam made the remarks when the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, led a management delegation to pay a working visit to him ahead of the 2026 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. …
Chief Imam Sheikh Sharubutu warns against rising drug abuse ahead of 2026 World Drug DayJoy Online
… The Vanguard of Nigeria reports that the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, said this in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, when he led a Ghanaian delegation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement A …
Ghana facing rising domestic narcotics use – NACOC boss tells Nigerian counterpartsJoy Online
The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission, Brigadier General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, has raised alarm over the growing illicit tobacco trade, warning that it poses serious public health risks and results in significant revenue losses for governments. …
Illicit tobacco trade threatens public health, drains revenue – NACOC boss warnsGhana's Narcotics Control Commission director told Parliament that suspected drug traffickers own hotels and real estate properties but use sophisticated methods to conceal their wealth. He said court delays and appeals have stalled asset recovery efforts, leaving confiscated money inaccessible while legal processes remain unresolved.
27 October 2026 · The Chronicle →
Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission director told Parliament that suspected drug traffickers own hotels and real estate properties but use sophisticated methods to conceal their wealth. He said court delays and appeals have stalled asset recovery efforts, leaving confiscated money inaccessible while legal processes remain unresolved.
27 October 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Director-General of NACOC told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee that a suspected drug trafficker has acquired a scanner to test whether security equipment can detect narcotics, exemplifying the increasingly sophisticated methods traffickers employ to evade detection. He warned that traffickers are continually adapting their methods while enforcement agencies face constraints from inadequate operational infrastructure.
22 October 2026 · The Chronicle →
The US Department of State's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs directorate and Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission met to strengthen collaboration through intelligence sharing, capacity building, training, and logistical support in combating drug trafficking and organised crime.
8 October 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission has called for tighter security coordination among agencies at Tema Harbour to prevent the port being used as a transit point for narcotic drugs, with its Director-General emphasising that no container should leave without required clearances and warning against inter-agency competition.
2 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana ranked fifth among countries of origin for cocaine seized at Belgium's Antwerp port in 2025, the only African nation in the top five dominated by Latin American states. Belgian customs seized nearly 55 tonnes of cocaine at Antwerp last year; Ghana's ranking reflects large seizures in cassava flour and other legitimate exports from Tema.
29 September 2026 · Joy Online →
A 52-year-old South African national arriving from Accra was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport with substances suspected to be cocaine valued at R2 million. This is the third major arrest of suspected drug traffickers arriving from Ghana, following a British actress and Australian couple caught with methamphetamine bound for Australia in June, and French customs seizing nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in a Ghana-sourced container in July.
22 September 2026 · Daily Guide →
GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi says the removal of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) from Ghana's list of Port Inspection Agencies in June 2018 weakened the country's capacity to detect and prevent drug trafficking through its ports. He welcomed President John Mahama's reported directive to reinstate NACOC on the list and grant it access to all entry and exit points.
21 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission director-general Major-General Maxwell Obuba Mantey has called for stronger cross-border cooperation among African countries to tackle synthetic drugs, cocaine trafficking and transnational organised crime, arguing that no country can effectively combat drug trafficking alone and that countries must move beyond fragmented national responses to strengthen intelligence sharing and joint operations.
12 September 2026 · Joy Online →
The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission has urged young people struggling with substance abuse to seek professional assistance early, stressing that recovery is possible and warning against experimenting with drugs due to serious consequences for their future.
20 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's youth are increasingly falling into substance abuse, a threat to individual futures and the country's social and economic progress, according to concerns raised by the Narcotics Control Commission, WHO, and UNODC. The growing misuse of drugs such as marijuana, tramadol, shisha, and synthetic drugs is destroying lives across communities.
7 August 2026 · Joy Online →
More than 6,000 applicants for Ghana's security services tested positive for illicit drugs in mandatory screening—representing about seven per cent of candidates for the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana National Fire Service and Ghana Ambulance Service. The Narcotics Control Commission Director-General said the result underscores the need for preventive interventions against substance abuse among youth.
1 July 2026 · Joy Online →
President John Dramani Mahama and the Narcotics Control Commission urged Ghana's youth to abstain from drugs at the 2026 World Drug Day commemoration in Accra, saying drug abuse would ruin their lives and families.
1 July 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission says the government has expanded operational capacity to combat illicit drugs, with district operational commands growing from fewer than 10 to 77 nationwide covering all 16 regions. The expansion includes 27 operational vehicles, a 100-acre training school site, mobile drug detection scanners, and plans to restore baggage scanners at Accra International Airport by August 2026.
30 June 2026 · Daily Guide →
The Bel-Aqua Care Foundation has donated GH¢120,000 to NACOC to support training of approximately 800 counsellors in Senior High Schools across Ghana's 16 regions to strengthen drug abuse prevention and provide counselling to students in need.
26 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission Director-General called on students to become ambassadors in the fight against drug abuse, urging them to champion awareness and prevention efforts on their campuses and use peer influence to prevent substance abuse among young people.
26 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The government has provided the Narcotics Control Commission with mobile drug detection devices and is replacing body intrusive scanners at Kotoka International Airport in collaboration with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, according to NACOC's Director-General, to enhance Ghana's capacity to detect and prevent illicit drug trafficking.
26 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission has arrested the alleged kingpin and two accomplices linked to an international drug trafficking syndicate that shipped 320 kilograms of methamphetamine worth US$296 million to Australia. The arrests followed a three-month intelligence-led investigation after Australian Federal Police intercepted the methamphetamine concealed in charcoal bags at Port Botany in Sydney.
26 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission will roll out new drug detection equipment, including mobile scanners, at Accra International Airport from August 2026 through a Ghana-Netherlands partnership, as part of efforts to strengthen border security and combat drug trafficking. The move follows heightened action against narcotics, including the recent arrest of an alleged drug kingpin linked to the seizure of approximately 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine from Ghana that was intercepted in Australia.
26 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission and Bureau of National Investigations have arrested a Ghanaian woman identified as the lead shipper of 320kg of methamphetamine intercepted in Australia. Authorities are tracking at least ten other suspects in connection with the shipment.
24 June 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Narcotics Control Commission has arrested the alleged kingpin linked to the attempted export of approximately 320 kilograms of methamphetamine to Australia that was intercepted by Australian authorities, while continuing to pursue other suspects involved in the international drug trafficking operation.
24 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Accra Girls Senior High School won the 2026 Narcotics Control Commission Inter-Schools Quiz Competition held in Accra on Friday with 44 points, ahead of PRESEC (36 points) and Labone SHS (35 points). The competition aimed to encourage students to champion the fight against drug abuse and narcotic-related offences.
22 June 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
The Narcotics Control Commission has engaged the National House of Chiefs to help tackle drug abuse, particularly among youth. The NACOC Director-General warned that individuals aged 20–29 are the largest group of drug users and that cannabis is the most widely abused substance in Ghana.
19 June 2026 · The Chronicle →
Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission will commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, 2026, at UPSA under the theme "The World Drug Problem: Persisting Issues, New Challenges, Innovative Responses," with the Chief of Staff as Guest of Honour.
16 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission is seeking closer collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association to strengthen public education against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking, particularly among young people. The partnership was discussed during a courtesy visit ahead of this year's World Drug Day celebration.
14 June 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission and Ghana Standards Authority have begun scientific examination of narcotic exhibits scheduled for destruction on June 24, 2026, as part of World Drug Day activities. The two-day exercise, supervised by NACOC's Director-General, will produce an analytical report for court approval and is intended to ensure accountability and transparency in the handling of seized substances.
11 June 2026 · Joy Online →
National Chief Imam Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu has expressed concern over rising drug abuse among young people, calling it a major threat to the nation's future that requires urgent collective action. NACOC leadership visited him ahead of the 2026 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, scheduled for June 26 at UPSA Main Auditorium.
11 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission has reported increased domestic consumption and distribution of illicit drugs and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to deepen cooperation through intelligence sharing, joint operations, and training.
6 May 2026 · Joy Online →
The Narcotics Control Commission Director-General has warned that illegal tobacco products deprive the state of billions in tax revenue annually, expose consumers to unsafe unregulated goods, and fuel organised crime. A week-long training workshop launched April 27, 2026, aims to strengthen frontline officers' capacity to detect and combat illicit tobacco trafficking at Ghana's entry and exit points.
28 April 2026 · Joy Online →