United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — UN agency supporting Ghana's maritime security initiatives and anti-fraud frameworks, including the UNODC-INTERPOL Global Fraud Summit partnership.
… According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2026 World Drug Report, Colombia, followed by Peru and Brazil, were the main departure countries for cocaine shipments worldwide between 2020 and 2024. …
… It cited the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2026, which identifies Colombia as the world’s leading departure country for cocaine shipments, with most of the consignments trafficked by sea. …
… It cited the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2026, published in June, which it said identified Colombia as the world’s leading departure country for cocaine shipments, with the majority trafficked by sea. …
… The Minority argues that the arrangements require closer scrutiny because Colombia is identified in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2026 World Drug Report as the world’s leading departure country for cocaine shipments, with most of the trafficking conducted by sea. …
… It cites the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2026, published in June, as identifying Colombia as the leading departure country for cocaine shipments. …
… Drug gangs were taking advantage of the tumultuous situation in the country since 2011, said the report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. …
… He reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to strengthening bilateral and regional partnerships and supporting the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other member states in rebuilding and reinforcing cooperation against the illicit drug trade. …
… Ghana also reaffirmed its participation in international cooperation platforms, including AIRCOP, SEACOP, the UNODC Global Container Control Programme, the INCB-GRIDS Programme and Project Cohesion. …
Ghana's Parliamentary Minority has called for immediate suspension of the country's maritime and port cooperation agreement and visa-waiver arrangement with Colombia, citing concerns over the country's links to major cocaine seizures linked to Ghana, including nearly 3.9 tonnes seized by French authorities at the Port of Dunkirk. The Minority said the scale of seizures was "unprecedented" and requested a comprehensive national security review before the agreements continue.
Ghana's Parliamentary Minority has called for immediate suspension of the country's maritime and port cooperation agreement and visa-waiver arrangement with Colombia, citing concerns over the country's links to major cocaine seizures linked to Ghana, including nearly 3.9 tonnes seized by French authorities at the Port of Dunkirk. The Minority said the scale of seizures was "unprecedented" and requested a comprehensive national security review before the agreements continue.
Parliament's Minority Caucus is calling for an immediate suspension of Ghana's bilateral visa-waiver arrangement and maritime cooperation agreement with Colombia, citing the need for a comprehensive national-security review. The demand follows unprecedented cocaine seizures linked to Ghana, with the Caucus pointing to Colombia's status as the world's leading source of cocaine shipments.
Parliament's Minority Caucus has called for immediate suspension of Ghana's maritime and port cooperation arrangements with Colombia, citing concerns over large-scale cocaine seizures linked to Ghana and the UN's identification of Colombia as the world's leading departure country for cocaine shipments by sea.
Ghana's parliamentary Minority is calling for immediate suspension of the maritime shipping and port cooperation agreement with Colombia, citing national security concerns over cocaine trafficking. The demand follows renewed scrutiny of Ghana's role in international drug trafficking and a maritime trade agreement linking Tema Port to Cartagena.
Parliament's Minority Caucus is calling for immediate suspension of Ghana's maritime and port cooperation arrangement with Colombia, citing national security concerns over cocaine trafficking. The Caucus also wants the bilateral visa-waiver agreement suspended and the entire framework subjected to a comprehensive security review, citing Ghana's ranking as the fifth-largest origin country for cocaine seized at Antwerp port.
QNET has condemned the misuse of its name by criminal networks in fraudulent recruitment schemes across Ghana and West Africa, clarifying that it does not offer employment, overseas jobs, visa processing, or investment opportunities. The company said unauthorized individuals demanding money while claiming to represent QNET are acting contrary to its policies, and that criminal networks have exploited its name alongside other businesses to facilitate fraudulent employment schemes and alleged human trafficking.
Deputy Interior Minister Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi launched the "EU for a Secure Ghana" project on 23rd September 2026 to strengthen Ghana's response to violent extremism, terrorism, organised crime and illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, while upholding human rights and the rule of law.
Libyan security forces intercepted a shipment of approximately 100,000 ecstasy pills smuggled from Europe, each moulded with the face of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. Libya has become a major regional transit hub for synthetic drugs, with gangs exploiting the country's instability since 2011.
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.
Ghana's delegation at the 33rd Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa in Vienna called for stronger regional and international cooperation to combat drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. During the period under review, NACOC and partner security agencies made 217 arrests and 165 prosecutions, intercepting more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs and 45.4 million tramadol tablets.
A commentary examines waste trafficking in Ghana as a climate and health hazard, noting that while human activities contribute most post-industrial greenhouse gas emissions, Ghana and other African nations contribute less than 5% of global emissions.
Ghana has passed the Maritime and Related Offences Bill, 2026, which awaits Presidential assent and aims to provide a comprehensive legal framework for preventing, investigating, and prosecuting piracy, armed robbery at sea, trafficking, and other maritime crimes. The Ghana Maritime Authority, in collaboration with the UN and EU, is engaging stakeholders to build understanding of the legislation ahead of its implementation.
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.
Ghana and Malta have launched "Project Ethics," a partnership to strengthen ethics education among children and young people through values-based learning, teacher training, and policy support. The initiative will strengthen ethics education through policy dialogue, teacher capacity building, digital learning tools and story-based educational resources, with the goal of helping young people develop critical thinking skills and understand civic responsibilities.
QNET, a direct selling company, has condemned all forms of human trafficking and fraud, and categorically dissociated itself from individuals and criminal networks allegedly using its name in Côte d'Ivoire. The company reiterates that it does not offer employment, overseas jobs, migration services, visa assistance, recruitment services or investment schemes.
Nigerian authorities arrested three Mexicans and seven Nigerians at an illicit drug laboratory in a forest, where they allegedly produced methamphetamine. The NDLEA described it as the country's largest-ever meth bust, discovering over two tonnes of the drug worth approximately $360 million.
An anti-human trafficking forum has called on the Government of Ghana to stop prosecuting victims of trafficking for forced cybercrime, warning that treating them as criminals allows trafficking syndicates to thrive. The forum urged state institutions to adopt a victim-centred approach and ensure that individuals rescued from scam operations are screened as potential trafficking victims before any criminal proceedings.
The Bright Future Alliance executive director will represent Africa at a United Nations International Youth Day event on August 12, 2026, where young people will examine how corruption affects their opportunities and aspirations. The event will present findings on corruption's impact on youth and explore ways to promote fairness and integrity.
Ghana and Malta have initiated the Malta-Ghana Ethics Education Partnership, a joint project to strengthen ethics education and values-based learning among children and young people in Ghana through policy dialogue, teacher capacity building, and pilot school implementation. The initiative was launched in Accra on 9 July 2026, with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu commending the effort as part of efforts to build a society founded on strong moral values.
QNET has formally endorsed the UNODC-INTERPOL Global Public-Private Partnership Framework Against Fraud and participated in the inaugural UNODC-INTERPOL Global Fraud Summit in Vienna. The company's partnership with Ghana's Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) was presented as a case study in public-private cooperation against organised fraud.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, has commissioned a bakery and vocational training facilities at Nsawam Medium Security Prison following a three-year rehabilitation project aimed at equipping prisoners with practical skills for reintegration.
African policymakers, anti-corruption agencies, and civil society organisations have adopted the Accra Declaration on Regulating Financing of Politics to Advance Democratic Integrity in Africa, calling for coordinated continental action to strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity in political financing. The declaration, adopted at a three-day conference in Accra held from July 14 to 16, warns that growing influence of money in politics is threatening democratic governance and eroding public confidence in institutions.
Security analyst Prof Vladimir Antwi-Danso has warned that the attempted export of methamphetamine to Australia reveals serious intelligence failures and possible infiltration of state institutions by organised crime. He cautioned that the incident should not be treated as an isolated act but as part of a larger international drug trade, and said the country must act quickly to prevent becoming a narco-state.
Dance and creative expression are being integrated into rehabilitation programmes at Ghana's correctional centres alongside traditional vocational and educational pathways. Prison officers, dancers and mental health advocates argue that creative arts help address the emotional trauma and psychological needs of incarcerated young people beyond what classroom instruction alone can achieve.
An analysis examines how Ghanaian real estate professionals may facilitate or prevent illicit financial flows through property transactions, noting that real estate is estimated to absorb USD 1.6 trillion in laundered money annually worldwide and is implicated in 74% of major money laundering schemes globally.
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.
The Narcotics Control Commission and UHAS Basic School called for sustained investment in youth empowerment, education and community engagement as tools against drug abuse and trafficking, during the school's third World Drug Day celebration in Ho.
Australia's border police seized methamphetamines worth approximately $210 million in street value hidden in charcoal containers shipped from Ghana in April 2026. Bright Simons criticizes Ghanaian security agencies for providing no updates on the bust and notes that any charcoal export from Ghana requires permits from the Energy Commission, raising questions about how the shipment was cleared.
The Ghana Journalists Association has called for increased investment in journalism, including training, access to information, and safety support for journalists, to strengthen the fight against human trafficking. The call was made at the media launch ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (Blue Day), observed annually on July 30, with this year's theme focusing on sports trafficking.
A delegation from the Nigerian Correctional Service, led by Assistant Controller General Latakile Cham Cyrus, concluded a learning exchange visit to Ghana organised with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, focusing on prisoner classification, inmate separation systems, rehabilitation programmes, and prison management practices at three facilities.