IMANI Vice President Bright Simons has raised concerns about the National Anti-Narcotics Control Commission’s (NACOC) explanation that the recent Beirut cocaine seizure formed part of a controlled delivery operation jointly conducted by Ghanaian and Lebanese security agencies.
In a statement outlining findings from the organisation’s investigations, Simons argued that such an operation would require advance coordination, multiple authorisations and the involvement of several agencies in both countries.
He has therefore called for an independent inquiry, citing unanswered questions about the operation, an earlier cocaine shipment and a network of freight forwarders allegedly linked to repeated smuggling incidents.
“A controlled delivery is not something done on the spur of the moment.”
IMANI Vice President Bright Simons
Simons acknowledged the resource constraints and operational secrecy under which agencies such as NACOC work but maintained that secrecy should not prevent scrutiny where security failures could harm citizens.
He urged serious research to balance operational secrecy with scrutiny and protect the public from possible security failures.
Controlled Delivery Requires Multiple Authorisations
According to Simons, a genuine, controlled delivery involving Ghana and Lebanon would require several security institutions to coordinate their actions. He argued that NACOC could not handle the operation alone because other agencies oversee interception, inspection and arrests at both airports.
He outlined the approval requirements as including the signature of NACOC’s Director General. In Lebanon, he stated, authorisation must come from the Public Prosecutor and the Director General of Customs, while the Counter-Narcotics Bureau of the Internal Security Forces, which he identified as Lebanon’s counterpart to NACOC, would supervise the operation.
Senior officials and airport ground commanders would therefore need to know about the exercise. Without coordination, routine screening could interrupt the delivery or alert the suspected cartel, he warned.
“Without such safeguards, an inadvertent inspection or interception during screening could derail the whole ‘controlled delivery’ exercise,”
IMANI Vice President Bright Simons
He identified the Interior Minister as the appropriate person to clarify whether the arrangements had been made, given the minister’s interagency oversight.
Questions Over Agency Awareness and Past Operations
Simons disclosed that IMANI had contacted individuals who, in his assessment, should have been informed about a joint operation of this nature. He claimed that some denied having prior knowledge of the exercise, raising questions about whether the necessary coordination took place.
IMANI had also reviewed Lebanon’s communication in other joint operations and controlled deliveries. Simons stated that its approach differed from what occurred in the Beirut case.
He invoked a 2014 case in which NACOC’s predecessor, the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), reportedly claimed a similar joint operation and controlled delivery. According to Simons, the United Kingdom denied involvement, after which the NACOB board was dissolved.
He contrasted that episode with Operation GRID, which he cited as an example of genuine collaboration openly acknowledged by the United Kingdom. He argued that both cases offered precedents for assessing the current explanation.
Earlier 70kg Shipment Raises Further Concerns
A further concern raised by Simons involved an alleged cocaine smuggling incident in late 2025. He claimed that a 70-kilogramme consignment originating from Ghana was concealed in a shipment of coconut oil and transported to Beirut.
Simons further alleged that NAFDAC had not publicly acknowledged the incident.
He disclosed that IMANI had conducted its own inquiries and compiled a dossier on freight forwarders operating in Accra and Tema.
According to him, the individuals and businesses identified had allegedly encountered the law in similar cases but continued operating after managing to avoid lasting consequences.
Simons indicated that IMANI would submit the material concerning the alleged 2025 smuggling network once an independent inquiry had been established.
IMANI Calls for Independent Inquiry
Simons maintained that an independent investigation was necessary to establish whether the Beirut operation was genuinely controlled and whether the agencies involved followed the required legal and operational procedures.
He maintained that security agencies needed room to conduct sensitive operations, while public confidence required credible oversight.
“We have both good and bad precedents that should guide us as a country,”
IMANI Vice President Bright Simons
He added that IMANI would provide its dossier only after the inquiry was in place and the organisation received assurances from the highest authorities regarding the safety of its investigators.
The inquiry should establish the extent of coordination, identify the officials who authorised the operation and examine the alleged 2025 shipment and freight-forwarding network.
His appeal highlights the need for accountability in anti-narcotics operations in Ghana. He maintained that an independent inquiry would help reassure the public that cocaine trafficking is being effectively addressed.
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