President John Dramani Mahama has called on security agencies to intensify efforts beyond arresting low-level drug peddlers and focus on dismantling the networks of drug barons who smuggle large quantities into the country.
The President made the remarks during his Resetting Ghana tour in the Northern Region on Sunday, April 19, 2026, amid growing concerns from traditional leaders about the rising abuse of drugs among the youth and its threat to community development and social stability.
“Drugs are destroying young people, and so NACOC and the police are concerned about drugs not only in the Northern Region, but also all over the country. It’s several of the regions,” Mahama said.
He noted that while recent operations by a task force deployed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had led to several arrests, many of those detained were mere peddlers rather than the kingpins behind the trade.
“Recently, the IGP sent a task force here, and they arrested a lot of these drug pushers, but we must move further. It is the case that a lot of those who were arrested are not the drug barons. There are those who bring the drugs in large quantities, and then they give them to these young people to be the peddlers,” he explained.
Mahama added: “So, most of the time, those we arrest are the peddlers and not the barons who smuggle these drugs into the system.”
The President disclosed that authorities have tightened surveillance and controls at Ghana’s ports, resulting in significant seizures and destruction of drugs that would otherwise have entered the country.
“We have recently tightened our operations at the port, and I must tell you, if you know the amount of drugs we have confiscated and burnt, all those drugs would have entered the system. So, we are trying to stop the drugs from coming in,” he said.
He also highlighted the challenge of cross-border smuggling, where traffickers use neighbouring countries and informal routes such as motorbikes to bring drugs into Ghana.
“While we are at that, some people smuggle through our neighbouring countries and use motorbikes to bring them into the country. So our task forces are doing well, and we must find ways to help them so that they can fight drugs in their areas of operation,” Mahama added.