Catholic bishops urge Ghana to pursue entire drug trafficking chain

The Catholic bishops have called for investigations into illicit drug trafficking to extend beyond those already arrested, saying everyone involved in moving narcotics into the country should be identified and, where evidence warrants, prosecuted.

The president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, said investigators should examine who received, packaged, certified or otherwise facilitated the movement of suspect consignments. He urged the government and Parliament to ensure the latest cases lead to a wider examination of the trade.

“Our concern is that Ghana is becoming a hub for drug trafficking, in view of the recent arrests and discoveries,” he said. The claim that Ghana is becoming a trafficking hub is the bishops’ assessment; no figures establishing the scale of the problem were provided in the supplied material.

Rev. Gyamfi welcomed what he described as the government’s decision to set up a body to investigate, but said the inquiry should not end with a small number of suspects. He argued that previous incidents had not resulted in the wider networks being addressed.

“All the agents and actors involved in this crime are not difficult to find at all,” he said, pointing to people who may have received, packaged or certified consignments. The supplied account does not identify those individuals or establish their involvement in a crime.

He said political office, traditional authority, business influence or social standing should not shield anyone found to have participated in drug trafficking.

“They should arrest them, prosecute them, and give them the appropriate proportional punishment,” he said, adding that public accountability would help deter others.

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