“Plata o plomo (silver or lead take the bribe or face bullets)” – Pablo Escobar
Drugs? Illicit drugs? Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ketamine, cannabis, marijuana, opiates … Ghana has law dealing with these; check the Ghana National Drug Policy of 1999, 2000? Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020 (Act 1019), Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851), Food and Drugs Act (PNDC Law 305 of 1992), Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 1990 (PNDCL 236).
No discussion on illicit drugs can be adequate without the involvement of kingpins of the menace in the Latin American countries: Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia (Andean producers) or Afghanistan, Burma, Laos (Golden Crescent Triangle), or China and India.
To the best of our information, the drugs are not produced here. Ghana becomes the transit point in the cycle – the drugs come here, and get transhipped to other countries: Europe (France, U.K., Germany …)
You may have heard about Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug kingpin and the leader of the Medellin Cartel. Escobar was born in Rionegro and raised near Medellin. As a teenager he used to, steal and re-sell gravestones and also dealt in fake diplomas.
In 1970, Escobar entered the narcotic trade, smuggling marijuana and then shifted to cocaine. He co-founded the Medellin Cartel which grew and monopolised the U.S. cocaine market. The Cartel had a policy: “plata o plomo” (silver or lead) which meant that the members of the Cartel either bribed officials (Customs, Immigration, Police,…) or eliminated (assassinated) them. Several thousands of deaths were attributed to Escobar.
But despite the brutalities the poor liked and supported him. Why? He funded public housing, public schools, public football fields. He behaved like Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest, who we learn “stole from the rich and gave to the poor.” With his “Merry Men” (companions like Little John, Will Scarlet Friar Tuck, and Alan-a-Dale, they would attack and sometimes murder the “haves” and their wealth shared among the “have-nots”. Robin Hood (or Robyn Hode) would say: “Of my good ye shall have some, ye be a por man” and Gest would write about Robin Hood: “he was a good outlawe, and dyde pore men moch god.”
Escobar earned the notorious title as the “World’s Greatest Outlaw”; he was the most elusive cocaine trafficker that ever lived. The “King of Cocaine” was declared by Forbes Magazine in 1989 as the seventh richest man in the world with US $30 billion to his name. In 1986, Escobar tried to enter politics, but could not succeed. He once burnt $2 million to keep his daughter warm while he was on the run. There was a manhunt for Escobar. On December 2, 1993 he was killed on a rooftop.
Other big drug dealers include Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, a Mexican of the Guadalajara Cartel. The Mexican Marines captured El Chapo on 8th January, 2016. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and incarcerated in ADX Florence, Colorado, United States of America.
We also have Osiel Cardenas Guillen, a Mexican drug lord, leader of the Gulf Cartel who absorbed 30 deserters from the Mexican Army special forces unit, the Cuerpo de Fuerzas Especiales, to establish the cartel’s armed wing. Guillen became one of the most wanted persons of the world, got arrested in Mexico in 2003 and deported to the U.S. in 2007 and kept in a U.S. prison.
Jorge Alberto Rodriguez, popularly or notoriously known as Don Cholito is another notorious Argentine-born drug baron of the Cali Cartel. He was arrested on July 6, 1990, kept in an isolation cell.
Marcos Williams Herbas Camacho, popularly or notoriously known as “Marcola”, is one of the founders and the current leader of Primeiro Comando da Capital, the most powerful Brazilian criminal organisation, sentenced to 234 years for murder, drug trafficking, and other crimes in Brazil. Griselda Blanco, known as “Godmother of Cocaine”, was a drug lady who operated between Miami and Colombia, smuggled 1,600 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. every month. She was ruthless, violent… Arrested in 1985 for drug-trafficking, convicted and jailed for 20 years… killed by a motorcycle hitman in Colombia on September 3, 2012…
Others include Roberto Suarez Gomez, Rick Ross, Manuel Noriega, Ramon Arellano Felix, Ismael Zambada Garcia… and Latin American countries became notorious for drugs, particularly cocaine.
It was in the 1960s that Ghana began entertaining cannabis (weed or Indian hemp) cultivation and domestic consumption. Drug control then fell under Pharmacy and Drugs Act 1961, in the early 1980s to the early 1990s.
PNDCL 236 (1990) recognised the rising international dimensions of drug cases. The PNDC government passed the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB).
In the 2000s, Latin American drug cartels found West African countries attractive for the illegal trade in drugs.
In 2005, a Member of Parliament for Nkoranza North was arrested in the United States; he was convicted and given a jail term of ten years for trafficking over $6 million worth of heroin.
In 2006, the MV Benjamin (re-phrased from MV Adade) vessel smuggled 77 parcels of cocaine into Kpone, a coastal town in Accra. What followed was a highly publicised trial and the focus on the cartel leader, Christian Sheriff Asem Darkey (the “Limping Man”). A high powered committee led By Justice Georgina Wood conducted detailed investigations.
Asem Darkey evaded the authorities for six years, and was finally arrested at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and jailed for 22 years. Some of the detained cocaine later turned into “kokonte”. And the late COP Kofi Boakye had a tough time defending himself and retaining his office. And Ghana earned the name “Cocaine Coast”.
In 2018, Ghana’s Economic Management Team, led by the Vice-President, Mahamudu Bawumia, withdrew NACOB (Narcotics Control Board) officials from container examination at the ports (Tema and Takoradi). Thus, the examination authorities were reduced to only three: Customs, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). It tallied with the policy of operationalising a “paperless” port system and [removing various bottlenecks], what did security analysts say: sacrificing robust border security for swift revenue collection and speedy container turn-around times.
On September 10, 2026, there was a drug bust in France – by the alert Customs officials at Dunkirk Airport. The cocaine involved, 3.9 tonnes, valued at €225 million ($261 million) was a transhipment from Ghana. Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested four persons: Desmond Karoteng Criminal, Musah Attah, [Kweku?] B… and businesswoman Jessica Hartog. Arraigned before the High Court in Accra, they were remanded in custody to appear on October 13, 2026. Dutch national, Job Leijdekkers is on the run.
Prof. Isaac Boadi [Executive Director of IERPP] postulates that the drug seizure could lead to: international sanctions, higher freight costs and loss of investor confidence.
The accused persons are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, the exportation of narcotics without a licence from the Minister of Health.
The President on September 17, 2026 summoned all the [security] heads of the security agencies to deliberate on the issue and Parliament is recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday September, 29th 2026 (per Article 112 (3).
The Catholic Bishops say government should treat the fight against narcotics as an urgent national concern.
And how do the Customs officers come in here? Yes, they are to inspect and “check” the contents of the containers, and did they give the green light?
Former Defence Minister Hon. Dominic Nitiwul is saying the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Tema should be told to go home. Oh, so he has reached 60 years already? What special qualities did he have to earn an extension to his retirement age, people are asking. As for us, “no comment”, but be grateful for God’s protection and being accused of being “too harsh” on those who came to us for “transit” and “transhipment” — especially on fish, cigarettes, rice — when we were there as the person-in-charge!
