Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi has welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to restore the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to Ghana’s port inspection agencies.
Gyamfi said the move could strengthen efforts to detect and prevent the trafficking of narcotics through the country’s ports and other entry and exit points.
In a post on X on Monday, September 21, 2026, he expressed concern over a recent drug seizure outside Ghana that was reportedly linked to one of the country’s ports.
According to him, such incidents raise questions about the effectiveness of existing monitoring and inspection systems at Ghana’s ports.
Gyamfi noted that NACOC is the institution mandated to monitor, regulate, enforce and control narcotics trafficking in Ghana.
He, however, pointed out that the commission was removed from the list of Port Inspection Agencies in June 2018.
“It is therefore intriguing that the NACOC was completely removed from the list of Port Inspection Agencies by the government in June 2018,” he wrote.
Gyamfi argued that the decision weakened NACOC’s ability to carry out port inspections and identify potential drug trafficking activities.
He said the removal “weakened NACOC’s port inspection function and denied it the ability to detect and prevent drug trafficking through the country’s ports of entry and exit.”
He therefore welcomed President Mahama’s directive for NACOC to be reinstated as a Port Inspection Agency with immediate effect.
According to Gyamfi, the commission has also been directed to have access to Ghana’s entry and exit points by air, land and sea.
“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.
Gyamfi further stated that he understood the President had ordered the immediate replacement of scanners and personnel at the country’s ports.
He expressed optimism that the measures would improve security and strengthen the monitoring of goods passing through Ghana’s entry and exit points.
“I believe that these measures, if implemented effectively, will strengthen checks and control at our ports to forestall the recurrence of these unfortunate incidents,” he added.
His comments come amid renewed concerns about the use of Ghana’s ports as potential transit points for illicit drugs and growing calls for stronger inspection and monitoring systems.
