News · Michael Teye Amartey

NACOC says no Presidential escort among €225m French cocaine case.

The Narcotics Control Commission , NACOC says its preliminary background checks have not established that any of the suspects in its custody over the two hundred and 25 million Euro cocaine seizure in France is a presidential escort.

Deputy Director-General of NACOC, Alexander Twum-Barimah, said the Commission had checked the backgrounds of all suspects currently in its custody but found no indication that any served as a close protection officer for President John Dramani Mahama or Vice President , Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang.

His comments follow a claim by New Tafo Member of Parliament, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, that one of the suspects, Musah Atta, was allegedly part of the security detail of both the President and Vice President.

In a Facebook post on last Friday , Mr . Assafuah questioned how an individual allegedly attached to the presidential security detail c an become linked to a cocaine trafficking case involving a seizure of such magnitude.

He asked how a presidential security operative c an become connected to the case, and who authorized or monitored the individual’s access.

However, speaking to the media in Accra last Sunday , Mr . Twum-Barimah said NACOC had not found evidence supporting the claim.

Mr . Twum-Barimah said NACOC w ill require additional information before it c an independently verify the claim about Musah Atta.

Adding that any further details about the alleged security role c an assist the ongoing investigations, but without such information, the Commission cannot confirm the allegation.

The NACOC Deputy Director-General also disputed the suggestion that one officer c an simultaneously serve as a close escort to both the President and Vice President.

Drawing on his own training as a protection escort in South Africa, he explained that security arrangements for the two principals are structured separately, with each requiring sufficient personnel to manage their respective protection duties.

He added that a close escort w ill be assigned to one security wing and w ill not simultaneously perform the same role for both principals.

The clarification comes against the backdrop of major cocaine seizures linked to Ghana, including the seizure by French customs authorities of nearly three point nine tonnes of cocaine from a container shipped from Ghana.

NACOC says its investigations into the suspects and the circumstances surrounding the shipment remain ongoing.