NACOC destroys seized drugs valued at over $10m at Bundase

More than US$10 million worth of seized narcotic substances have been taken out of circulation following a destruction exercise by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) at Bundase.

The consignment included millions of synthetic opioid tablets and capsules, thousands of bottles of codeine-based cough mixture and hundreds of kilogrammes of cannabis confiscated during anti-drug operations.

Synthetic opioids accounted for the largest share of the drugs destroyed, with 4,730,100 capsules and tablets estimated to be worth US$5.9 million.

The exercise also covered 338,000 bottles of codeine-infused cough mixture valued at US$4.2 million, alongside 564.39 kilogrammes of cannabis with an estimated street value of US$112,878.

To establish the nature of the substances before their destruction, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) carried out verification tests, which confirmed the presence of cannabis in the samples examined.

The exercise comes against the backdrop of renewed concerns about Ghana's role in international drug trafficking, following the recent seizure of suspected narcotics in Lebanon involving a consignment linked to Ghana.

NACOC Director-General, Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, used the occasion to reaffirm the Commission's commitment to fighting the narcotics trade, insisting that the Lebanon incident should not be viewed as evidence of institutional failure.

He acknowledged the difficulties involved in tackling drug trafficking but maintained that the Commission would not be deterred by the challenges.

Major General Mantey said NACOC would continue to strengthen its operations and pursue efforts to disrupt the activities of drug traffickers.

The destruction of the seized substances is an effort to prevent confiscated narcotics from re-entering circulation and causing further harm to the public.