President John Dramani Mahama has convened a high-level meeting to review Ghana’s border security arrangements and strengthen measures to prevent the trafficking of narcotic drugs and other illicit substances through the country.
President John Mahama.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. at Jubilee House and will bring together heads of key security, intelligence, customs, ports, maritime and aviation institutions.
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According to an invitation issued by the Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the meeting will assess vulnerabilities at Ghana’s ports, airports and land borders, while identifying practical measures to close gaps that may be exploited by drug trafficking networks.
Key areas for discussion will include intelligence sharing, cargo and passenger screening, inter-agency coordination and the deployment of technology to detect and disrupt narcotics trafficking.
Institutions invited include relevant security agencies, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and other stakeholders involved in border and transport security. Participants have been asked to come with assessments of existing security gaps and proposals for strengthening surveillance and enforcement.
The meeting comes amid heightened concerns over Ghana’s vulnerability to international narcotics trafficking, following the seizure by French authorities of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine reportedly linked to a container shipped from Ghana.
The development also comes as the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) intensifies its call for stronger regional cooperation against drug trafficking and transnational organised crime. NACOC Director-General, Major General Maxwell Obuba Mantey, recently urged African countries to strengthen intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations, joint operations and border management.
Government has previously indicated that Ghana is moving towards intelligence-led border monitoring, particularly because of numerous illegal crossing points that could be exploited by smugglers and criminal networks.
The Jubilee House meeting is therefore expected to produce stronger coordination among agencies and concrete measures to prevent Ghana from being used as a transit point for narcotics and other illicit commodities.
