Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, has explained why the commission collaborated with other security agencies in an operation that led to the arrest of Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, at his residence in Swedru.

During a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sitting to examine the 2025 Auditor-General’s Report on the Ministry of the Interior, the committee’s Vice-Chairperson, Opoku Ansah Davis, questioned why NACOC, which specialises in drug-related offences, was involved in an operation concerning cybercrime.

12 Hours, 3 Teams: Inside the operation that led to Abu Trica's arrest

In response, Major General Mantey said NACOC had partnered with several security agencies, with some of its units receiving funding through these collaborations.

He explained that NACOC participated in the operation because it was best suited for the task at the time, adding that the Commission worked closely with the Ghana Police Service, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA).

“Honorable, we have so many MOUs with our partners, and we demand the same from them when we need their support. I have some specialized units, purely funded by some of our partners, and as part of the MOU, we work with their intelligence agencies, and so when they are handicapped, we work with them.

“In this particular case, we worked with the Cyber Authority; we worked with the CID; we worked with the police, and at the time that they needed that particular operation to be conducted, narcotics was best suited for it,” he explained.

Major General Mantey further defended the Commission’s capacity to support operations beyond its core mandate, insisting that its specialised teams had capabilities that were not widely known to the public.

“Let me say proudly that we have a very professional team that can do so many things that people are not privy to. The only thing is that we don't come public and so for this particular operation, they needed narcotics specialists to do it and that is why they did it,” he said.

He disclosed that he was personally present when the operation was launched to ensure that the procedures were properly followed.

“You'd be surprised to know that I was personally there when they first hit the targets, just to be sure that the things were rightly done,” he added.

The NACOC Director-General maintained that the Commission acted within the law and the terms of its agreements with partner agencies.

He said NACOC handed the suspects over to the CID when it became necessary for the department to take over the next stage of the process.

“So, it is not that we do things outside our scope. We work within the MOU with our partners and with the laws of the land. When it became necessary for us to hand them over to the CID for onward movement, we handed them over without holding back,” he stated.

It will be recalled that in an interview on Lawson TV on June 1, 2026, Alexander Twum-Barimah, the Deputy Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), stated that the operation to arrest businessman and socialite Abu Trica lasted 12 hours.

According to Alexander Twum-Barimah, there was a court order issued for Abu Trica’s arrest, and it took 12 hours to execute the operation, involving three teams who played different roles.

Abu Trica granted bail by High Court

“The operation lasted about 12 hours. Three teams were involved: two operating in Accra and one in the Central Region. So how are you using a 1-minute 20-second video to judge a 12-hour operation? It was a 12-hour operation, and that was the order of the court,” he said.

Watch the video below:

The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has explained to the Public Accounts Committee why it collaborated with foreign agencies to assist in the arrest of Abu Trica.

[🎥: Parliament TV] https://t.co/wt4HUh7GWE

— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) October 20, 2026