Police seize cocaine shipment worth $6.9m at Tema Port

Ghanaian police have seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of $6.9m (£5.4m) in a major anti-narcotics operation in the port city of Tema.

Three suspects, including a Dutch national, were arrested after police received intelligence that a consignment of the suspected drug was being loaded into a shipping container at a warehouse near the Tema Harbour.

The Tema Regional Police Command said the operation was carried out on Wednesday evening after officers were informed that parcels of a white powdered substance had been hidden inside sacks of gari prepared for export.

Police identified the suspects as 31-year-old Dutch national Gilano Horwin, John Mensah Sabah, 41, and Alhaji Iddris Haruna, 52.

The three men were allegedly supervising the loading of the sacks into a container mounted on a truck when officers arrived at the warehouse.

A search of the consignment later uncovered 866 parcels of a substance suspected to be cocaine, police said.

Tema Regional Police Commander DCOP Eric Asamoah Asiedu described the seizure as one of the largest recorded by the command in recent years.

Police said Mr Horwin allegedly admitted ownership of the substance during questioning, although investigations are continuing to establish the full network behind the attempted export.

The suspects remain in police custody while the seized substance undergoes forensic examination.

Separate cannabis seizure

In a separate operation on the same day, police in Prampram intercepted a taxi carrying four sacks of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.

The vehicle was stopped at Tsopoli after officers joined a pursuit involving another vehicle that escaped.

The taxi driver, identified as Eric Tetteh, was arrested and police said he admitted transporting the suspected narcotics from a village near Akuse.

Officers are still searching for other suspects linked to the operation, including occupants of a second vehicle that escaped.

The Tema Regional Police Command said it would continue intelligence-led operations to disrupt drug trafficking networks and urged the public to provide information that could assist investigations.