Interior Minister, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that in less than two years more than 45 million tramadol tablets have been seized in Ghana.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 24, 2026, the Interior Minister disclosed that 217 arrests have been made, with 165 prosecutions made, with more than 8,500 kilogrammes of narcotics also seized.
According to Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, tramadol seizures were particularly worrying, given the growing use of synthetic drugs.
The Interior Minister stated, “One of the major challenges that confronts us continues to be the illicit drug fight”.
“One of the biggest challenges now is the use of these synthetic drugs, and Narcotics Control has intensified its effort. Imagine, in less than two years, over 45 million tablets of tramadol were seized or intercepted”.
Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka credited the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies, for their decisive approach to the drug abuse problem.
He further disclosed that the government was also going after the financial networks behind the illicit drug trade, rather than focusing only on arrests.
The Interior Minister disclosed that intelligence-led operations had resulted in 73 tainted assets being recovered within about 20 months, while more than 19 kilogrammes of gold had been seized in suspected drug-money laundering cases.
He also revealed that GH¢6.9 million and US$440,000 in cash have also been restrained in connection with suspected drug-related activities.
Meanwhile, the Interior Minister has disclosed that Ghana has removed 2,281 migrant beggars and 774 other illegal immigrants involved in transnational organised crime in 2025.
According to the Interior Minister, the Ghana Immigration Service had continued to remove foreign nationals found to be engaging in irregular migration and unlawful activities.
He disclosed that the enforcement exercise had continued into 2026, with the Ghana Immigration Service removing 960 migrant beggars from the streets of Accra and Kumasi and another 186 illegal immigrants by July this year.
Muntaka Mubarak Mohammed argued that Ghana was pursuing the removals while remaining mindful of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the country’s longstanding diplomatic relations with other countries.
Interior Minister stated, “Before I sequentially account for the work of the Ministry for the Interior thus far, I want to address an issue that has understandably attracted public attention in recent times: the presence of beggars on our streets, especially migrant beggars and others involved in illegal activities.
As Minister, I acknowledge the concerns and anxieties of citizens and wish to assure the public that this is not an issue that has been ignored by the Government or the security services.
Ghana occupies a unique position in our subregion. We are an oasis of peace and stability in a region that has, in recent years, faced significant security and economic challenges. This explains the urge of people from countries experiencing difficulties in the subregion to look to Ghana for refuge. But we also have a duty to protect our borders, maintain public order and safeguard our national security and economic interests.
By the end of 2025, 2,281 migrant beggars and 774 other illegal immigrants involved in transnational organized crimes had been removed from Ghana. By July 2026, a further 960 migrant beggars and 186 other illegal Immigrants had been removed.
We are pursuing these removals fully conscious of Ghana’s obligations under the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, as well as our diplomatic relations and longstanding ties with other countries.
Our objective is to reduce irregular migration and unlawful activities associated with it to the barest minimum, while ensuring that enforcement action is lawful, undertaken by the appropriate authorities, and carried out in a manner that is respectful of human dignity.
Let me be clear: the challenge before us is not a lack of political will, security intelligence, or leadership. It is, principally, a question of scale. I can assure the public that there is a high-level consensus, with earmarked logistical support to increase the scale of the removals and strengthen our borders. Evidence of that will soon be apparent.
We will continue to protect Ghana’s tradition of hospitality, but we will do so alongside a firm commitment to the rule of law, national security and public order”.
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