Former Head of Public Affairs for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Fiifi Boafo has said Ghana cannot dismiss its growing international cocaine problem when nearly four tonnes of the drug have been seized in France from a container that arrived from Ghana.

He said this on Joy News after French authorities seized about 3.9 tonnes of cocaine, valued at roughly €225 million, at the port of Dunkirk on September 10. The cocaine was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste from Ghana, with part of the shipment reportedly destined for Antwerp.

The seizure has since triggered a Ghanaian investigation into how such a large consignment could leave the country.

A BNI charge sheet presented in court alleges that four containers linked to the shipment had undergone scan-image analysis at Tema Port and that the images were assessed as abnormal. The prosecution further alleges that the containers were nevertheless allowed to leave Ghana. These claims remain allegations before the court.

Against that background, Boafo says the issue is no longer simply about whether the phrase “cocaine coast” is offensive to Ghana.

“If we had done the right thing, would you not have had a good reputation?” he asked.

He questioned how Ghana could avoid the label when large quantities of cocaine are being linked to shipments leaving its territory and subsequently seized abroad.

“If we had not allowed huge hordes of cocaine to transit our ports, would we gain this notoriety that we are now in the league of Colombia and Brazil when it comes to cocaine?” Boafo said.

He argued that Ghana should be trying to distance itself from that league rather than objecting to the description.

“We don’t belong to this league. Take us back to relegation in the cocaine league because where you are taking us to, it is something that we cannot accept,” he said.

For Boafo, the international seizures should therefore be treated as a warning about Ghana’s reputation and the need to prevent the country’s ports from being exploited by international trafficking networks.

“We must not accept it and we must make sure that we see some action,” he added.