General News of Friday, 27 July 2018

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Authorities destroy Narcotic drugs at Bundase

The consignment, which were ready for shipping, was confiscated on the December, 19th 2017 The consignment, which were ready for shipping, was confiscated on the December, 19th 2017

A total of 500 kilogrammes Cannabis and 100 kilogrammes of Khart with a street value of GHC 500,000 were on Friday burnt at the Bundase Military Camp following an order from the Accra high court.

The consignment, which had been packaged and ready for shipping, was confiscated on the December, 19th 2017 upon a tip-off by the collaborative efforts of drug enforcement agencies in Asesawase, in the Eastern Region.

The burning was jointly supervised by the Ghana Standards Authority, Attorney General, the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Police Service, High court, and Narcotic Control Board (NACOB).

Mr Stanley Solomon Eyo, Deputy Chief Narcotic Analyst at the NACOB briefing the media said investigations were still on-going and the accomplice was facing prosecution.

“Most often the real owners of drugs hid at the background manipulating the movement of the goods till it gets to the destination,” he said.

Mr Eyo hinted that the value of the consignment would have tripled if it had reached its destination such as Europe and the United States of America due to its purity.

“When it comes to cannabis the type grown in Ghana is one of the best in the world due to our good climate conditions and it was in high demand. The content of Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive constituent of the countries type is high,” he said.

Mr Eyo noted that NACOB would continue to collaborate with other agencies to ensure the country did not become a drug traffic destination including Khat a flowering plant that contains alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which could cause excitement and has a psychotic effect.

“That drug is not grown in Ghana and the street value is not that high but it has a serious effect. On bi-monthly bases, we confiscate it because it was observed that some people import it iand repackage it with Ghana’s flag and ship it as spinach.

“We are concerned and we are stopping that activity because it will drag the country’s name in the mud. Ghana can also be punished if it is found to be the destination of such consignments.

Mr Eyo reiterated that NACOB would continue to fight the drug war until it was brought to the barest minimum by preventing the use, import, export of narcotics, enforcement and control of narcotic control laws in the country.

He said his outfit would continue to provide the necessary education on narcotics treatment, rehabilitation and social re-integration of narcotic addicts.