Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka says Ghana had no equipment to detect narcotics when he assumed office in 2025, a situation he describes as a major challenge in the fight against illicit drug trafficking.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, October 12, he said the absence of detection devices limited the country’s ability to identify narcotics being transported through its territory.
“When we came, there was not a single gadget in this country that could detect narcotics.”
“They [security operatives] use their physical eyes to check. So when the thing is going through the normal scan, and you suspect something, you will then use your eyes,” he said.
Mr Muntaka said the Ministry had since taken steps to close the gap and improve the country’s capacity to detect and combat illicit drug trafficking.
He identified drug trafficking as a major security threat facing Ghana, alongside ethnic conflicts and land disputes.
His remarks follow recent drug seizures outside Ghana, which have renewed calls for stronger measures to tackle narcotics trafficking.
Mr Muntaka said security agencies were intensifying efforts to combat the menace, expressing confidence that Ghana would succeed in the fight against illicit drugs.
