Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s reported decision to restore the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to Ghana’s port inspection agencies.
Mr Gyamfi said the move, together with measures to strengthen inspection systems at the country’s ports, would help improve efforts to prevent the trafficking of narcotics through Ghana.
In a Facebook post on Monday, September 21, 2026, Mr Gyamfi said he was concerned about a recent report of a drug bust in another jurisdiction involving a shipment whose origin was traced to one of Ghana’s ports.
He argued that such incidents pointed to weaknesses in the monitoring and inspection systems at the country’s ports.
According to Mr Gyamfi, NACOC, which is mandated to monitor, regulate, enforce and control narcotics trafficking in Ghana, was removed from the list of Port Inspection Agencies in June 2018.
While he said it was unclear what informed the decision at the time, Mr Gyamfi argued that the move weakened NACOC’s port inspection function and limited its ability to detect and prevent drug trafficking through Ghana’s points of entry and exit.
He therefore welcomed what he said was President Mahama’s directive for NACOC to be restored to the list of Port Inspection Agencies with immediate effect.
Mr Gyamfi said the directive also gives NACOC unrestricted access to all entry and exit points by air, land and sea.
“It is therefore refreshing to learn that President Mahama has directed that effective immediately, NACOC be restored to the list of Port Inspection Agencies and granted unfettered access to all entry and exit points; by air, land and sea,” he said.
Sammy Gyamfi expresses confidence in NACOC
Mr Gyamfi expressed confidence that NACOC would be able to contribute effectively to efforts to curb narcotics trafficking if it receives the necessary support.
He said his confidence was informed by his previous work with the Commission, led by Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, particularly in efforts to combat gold smuggling.
“As someone, who has closely worked with the Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey-led NACOC in fighting gold-smuggling, I am confident that with the necessary support, the NACOC will succeed in stemming this tide,” he said.
Mr Gyamfi also said he understood that President Mahama had directed that scanners and personnel at Ghana’s ports be changed with immediate effect.
He expressed the belief that the measures, if effectively implemented, would strengthen checks and controls at the ports and help prevent a recurrence of what he described as the recent “unfortunate incidents”.
“I believe that these measures, if implemented effectively, will strengthen checks and control at our ports to forestall the reccurrence of these unfortunate incidents,” he said.
