Arrest Without Speedy Justice Is No Solution To Drug Menace Majority Leader Agalga Demands Swift Narcotics Court

Story By: Deborah Adorsu

Majority Leader James Agalga has stated that Ghana’s fight against narcotics cannot succeed on arrests alone without a justice system capable of handling drug related cases swiftly.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament, the Builsa North MP said the Narcotics Control Commission NACOC has historically faced significant staffing and logistical challenges which hampered enforcement.

According to him, NACOC was under-resourced, understaffed and insufficiently institutionalised before 2025 to protect the country against an increasingly sophisticated trafficking industry.

He pointed to a 2018 decision that removed NACOC from routine joint physical inspections at Tema Port, describing it as a blind spot in port security that still impacts operations.

He said government has now shifted strategy from counting seizures to disrupting criminal networks, with 73 arrests recorded nationwide in 2024 rising to 217 arrests across 165 cases in 2025, representing a 197 percent increase, and seizures of over 1,497 kilograms of narcotics valued at $5.24 million.

To sustain the momentum, he disclosed that President John Mahama has approved recruitment of 1,200 additional staff to complement 495 officers trained in 2025, expanded District Commands from fewer than 10 to 77 across all 16 regions, and established a dedicated narcotics court to ensure timely prosecution.

He also described the Minority’s call for Parliament to be reconvened over the ongoing narcotics cases as unnecessary