Ghana calls for increased staffing at anti-drug commission — MyJoyOnline
In Ghana, Peter Lanchene Toobu, the vice chair of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, called for a substantial increase in the number of staff at the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC). According to him, this is necessary to counter increasingly complex drug trafficking networks.
Call for recruitment and training
The Member of Parliament for the Wa West constituency said that strengthening NACOC should not be limited to modern technology and equipment. In his view, the commission also needs sufficient personnel and specialized training to detect and disrupt drug trafficking operations across the country.
As MyJoyOnline reports, in an interview with Citi FM on September 19, 2026, Toobu said that NACOC has fewer than 2,000 staff members. He called on the authorities to recruit more personnel, train them, and deploy them effectively across the country.
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The parliamentarian also stressed the need for closer coordination among security agencies. According to him, increasing staff numbers must be accompanied by interagency cooperation and proper personnel deployment.
Operating in only 66 districts
Toobu’s statement came amid attention to international drug trafficking investigations after French authorities seized about 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine from a container shipped from Ghana. He said this should prompt new investment in structures responsible for combating drug trafficking.
In July, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak told Parliament that NACOC operates in only 66 of Ghana’s 261 districts because of shortages of personnel and equipment. The commission, meanwhile, said its recent operations were intelligence-led and that suspects linked to the seizure in France had been under surveillance for one to two years before their arrest.
