NACOC arrests Tema freight forwarder over Spain cocaine seizure

The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested a freight forwarder in Tema as part of investigations into 2.6 tonnes of cocaine seized by Spanish authorities from a shipment that had left Ghana.

The cocaine was found concealed beneath false bottoms in wooden crates declared to contain coconuts. The two containers were loaded at Tema Port on August 2 and arrived at the Port of Valencia in Spain on August 22, according to Spanish authorities.

Spanish customs officials and the Guardia Civil selected the containers for inspection, citing a high-risk profile. After discovering and testing the white powder, investigators removed the cocaine, resealed the cargo and monitored its onward journey. Two men were later arrested in Spain as the shipment was unloaded at a warehouse in Almería. They were identified as the suspected importer and the person overseeing the unloading.

NACOC’s reported arrest in Tema is part of a Ghanaian investigation into the shipment. Separately, Ketu North MP Eric Edem Agbana has said NACOC worked with Spanish authorities and that arrests were made in Ghana.

The investigation is ongoing. The reported arrest does not establish that the freight forwarder knew about or was involved in concealing the cocaine.