The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) Deputy Director-General Alexander Twum-Barimah has debunked claims by Old Tafo MP, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, that one of the suspects arrested in connection with the $261m cocaine bust in France was a member of the presidential security detail.
According to Alexander Twum-Barimah, background checks conducted on all the suspects in custody had not identified any of them as a presidential escort or bodyguard.
The NACOC Deputy Director-General further urged Vincent Ekow Assafuah to come clear and explain his allegations.
Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, September 20, Alexander Twum-Barimah stated, “From the background that we have done, I don’t have any presidential bodyguard. President John Dramani Mahama’s bodyguard? Then he has to come clear and explain to us his job description and everything.”
“And like I said to you earlier, we have checked all the people that we have in custody; their backgrounds are known to us, and we don’t have any of them who is a presidential escort,” he stressed.
His comment follows Vincent Ekow Assafuah, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, has alleged that one of the four suspects arrested over the $261 million worth of cocaine seized in France from a shipment from Ghana is a member of the security detail of President John Mahama and Vice President Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang.
According to Ekow Assafuah, the suspect named Musah Atta is a security personnel who has been detailed to both President John Dramani Mahama and the Vice President.
In a Facebook post, Ekow Assafuah shared photos of the supposed suspects in proximity to the President and Vice President, and questioned how this could happen.
In the pictures, Ekow Assafuah singled out a man he claims to be Musah Atta, who was part of the security detail of the president at his swearing-in on January 7, 2025.
He also shared another picture showing a man who looks like the same person protecting the vice president.
He wrote, “US$261.45 million cocaine bust and one accused, Musah Atta, is reportedly part of the security detail of both the President and Vice President.
“How does a presidential security operative become linked to a case of this magnitude? Who granted the access, and who was watching the watchers?” he added.
However, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, has said no member of government or the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is under investigation into cocaine trafficking through Ghana’s borders.
According to Kwakye Ofosu, there is no evidence so far presented implicating any government official or NDC member in the investigations.
Speaking on the Channel One Newsroom on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “You folks, as you speak, nobody has put forward any evidence of the involvement of any member of government or any member of the party,” he said, adding, “It is imperative that we avoid this kind of speculation and rumour-mongering when there’s no basis for it.”
He further revealed that none of the 10 people currently being held in connection with the investigations is a member of government.
“None of the people in custody at the moment is a member of government,” he said.
“In any event, even if a high-ranking member of government or a member of the NDC was involved, it would mean that they have committed a crime against the state of Ghana, that they have violated Ghanaian law, and therefore they will be taken through the same processes that anybody else who violates Ghanaian law will be taken through,” Kwakye Ofosu said.
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