Government cannot investigate drug exports under its own watch – Abu Jinapor

Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has questioned the adequacy of relying solely on existing government and security institutions to investigate major narcotics consignments that have allegedly passed through Ghana undetected.

The former Lands and Natural Resources Minister and current Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee made the argument while reacting to the rejection of a Minority motion seeking a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.

Mr Jinapor said the proposed committee would have examined the roles of institutions responsible for narcotics enforcement, customs, port operations and border security.

He also questioned whether existing scanning, surveillance and intelligence systems are sufficient to prevent large quantities of illicit drugs from leaving the country.

His comments follow the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine by French Customs at Dunkirk in September, reportedly from a container shipped from Ghana.

The Minority has said the incident, alongside other seizures, warrants scrutiny of cargo-scanning, risk-profiling and inspection procedures at Ghana’s ports.

Mr Jinapor further referenced what he described as recent admissions by Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak regarding suspected insider dealings, arguing that the developments make independent parliamentary scrutiny important.

“We cannot leave this matter to be investigated by the very persons under whose watch these huge volumes of drugs are being exported undetected,” he said.

Mr Jinapor also accused the government of seeking to avoid accountability and described the situation as a potential “grand cover-up”, while calling for the use of lawful parliamentary mechanisms to demand answers.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.