The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee and Assin South MP, Honourable John Ntim Fordjour has renewed his call for Parliament to sit and conduct a full-scale inquiry into major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.
His position comes after the Minority formally petitioned the Speaker to recall the House under Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament’s Standing Orders.
The Assin South MP indicated that the Minority has already secured more than the constitutionally required 15 percent support for the recall request. He therefore urged the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to act on the petition and allow Parliament to examine the circumstances surrounding the recent drug seizures.
The immediate trigger for the renewed parliamentary action is the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French authorities at the Port of Dunkirk on September 10. The consignment, reportedly concealed in a container of plastic waste that arrived from Ghana, has been valued at about US$261 million.
Honourable Fordjour argued that the scale of the shipment required scrutiny beyond the individual arrests already associated with the case. He added that Parliament must examine the systems through which consignments are inspected, cleared and exported from Ghana and determine whether institutional weaknesses contributed to the development.
“We are very expectant that the House be recalled for full scale inquiry to be conducted into the embarrassing scandal that this government has plunged us into.”
Honourable John Ntim Fordjour
Referencing the Minority’s earlier warnings about narcotics trafficking, the Ranking Member recalled raising issues concerning suspicious movements linked to cocaine and money laundering in 2025. He alleged that those warnings did not receive the level of institutional response that was necessary at the time.
The development has since moved beyond a political demand for an inquiry, with the Minority identifying several agencies whose operations it wants examined. These include the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Transport, Narcotics Control Commission, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Immigration Service and intelligence authorities.
Furthermore, Honourable Fordjour linked the parliamentary demand to Ghana’s international reputation and the need for stronger oversight of the country’s ports and borders. He argued that repeated major seizures involving consignments connected to Ghana require Parliament to establish how such shipments move through the country’s systems.
The Ranking Member also referenced previous international narcotics cases, including the Australian seizure of about 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine in a consignment traced to Ghana. He argued that the recurrence of major cases made parliamentary scrutiny necessary to determine whether existing enforcement arrangements were adequate.
At the same time, the Minority’s request has faced opposition from members of the Majority, who have argued that ongoing investigations should remain with the institutions legally mandated to investigate and prosecute criminal offences. Majority Chief Whip Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor has urged that the relevant security and narcotics agencies be allowed to complete their work.
Port Checks Under Scrutiny As Cocaine Shipments Raise Questions
The Ranking Member also questioned how a shipment containing such a substantial quantity of cocaine could pass through multiple stages of inspection before reaching an international destination.
Addressing the inspection process, Honourable Fordjour drew attention to the reported 3.9 tonnes shipment and argued that its size should have made detection possible at several points along the chain. He cited the involvement of port authorities and other state agencies as a reason for a detailed examination of how the container was handled.
“3.9 tonnes is not like a bag of cement; it’s about 80 bags of cement. This is the quantum of cocaine that they put in containers.”
Honourable John Ntim Fordjour
The Assin South MP further challenged explanations surrounding the role of the Narcotics Control Commission in container inspections. He questioned the purpose of the agency if intelligence led narcotics detection does not form an effective part of its operations.
Following a wider discussion over whether NACOC, Customs and other institutions have sufficient involvement in container inspection procedures during the period preceding the latest international seizure. Honourable Fordjour rejected the suggestion that the agency’s previous role could explain the scale of the recent shipment.
Referencing the period between 2018 and 2024, the Ranking Member contrasted the inspection arrangements of that period with the volume of narcotics seizures now being discussed. He argued that the inquiry should establish whether changes to inspection procedures affected the country’s ability to detect major consignments.
The issue also involves the wider chain of port operations, including intelligence gathering, scanning, inspection and clearance. Parliamentary scrutiny, he argued, should therefore examine the responsibilities of each institution and establish where weaknesses may have occurred.
Additionally, Honourable Fordjour questioned the safeguards surrounding high value narcotics consignments. He argued that the movement of such a large quantity would ordinarily require coordination among several personnel and therefore warranted investigation into every stage of the shipment.
“For you to ship $280 million worth of cocaine, no businessman will risk his containers worth over $200 million of cocaine if he is not assured, if he has no prior arrangement for clearance.”
Honourable John Ntim Fordjour
The claims remain allegations and would require evidence from the relevant investigations and any parliamentary inquiry before responsibility can be established. Existing investigations by Ghanaian and foreign authorities also remain separate from Parliament’s proposed oversight process.
Honourable Fordjour subsequently argued that the parliamentary process should examine institutional accountability without limiting the inquiry to individual arrests. He called for scrutiny of the systems governing Ghana’s ports, intelligence operations and narcotics enforcement.
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