Francis Amoah, the Director of Public Affairs and International Relations at the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), has justified its decision not to immediately disclose the identities of suspected drug traffickers.
He argued that premature disclosure could alert other members of an organised network and jeopardise ongoing investigations.
According to Francis Amoah, drug trafficking is a transnational organised crime involving multiple individuals and networks, arguing that investigators need to carefully determine when information about suspects should be made public.
Francis Amoah was responding to calls for NACOC to adopt a “name and shame” approach amid a series of high-profile cocaine seizures linked to Ghana.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, September 14, 2026, Francis Amoah explained, “If you get a suspect just yesterday and you bring the suspect’s picture, you mention his or her name, what you are literally doing is that you’re shooting your own leg at the foot because what you’re telling other people who may be involved is that the suspect has been arrested”.
“And therefore, if you are linked or connected with the suspect in any way, you can run away. You can run,” he said.
He highlighted that investigators assess what information can safely be released without compromising intelligence gathered or allowing other suspects to evade arrest.
“You evaluate, and you see what information is appropriate for us as a commission to let the Ghanaian people know. And if you let the Ghanaian people know this, is it going to affect the investigations in any way?” he said.
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has revealed that three suspects arrested in connection with the French cocaine seizure are allegedly linked to activities of Dutch fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, popularly known as “Bolle Jos”, in Ghana.
NACOC said in a statement signed by PNCO Francis Opoku Amoah, acting Director of Public Affairs and International Relations, that the three suspects’ arrests follow the seizure of a major cocaine shipment by French customs.
According to NACOC, the three suspects are currently in its custody and are assisting investigators to establish their alleged roles in the trafficking operation.
NACOC disclosed that the arrests form part of efforts to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks operating in or through Ghana.
The Commission said in a statement read, “NACOC remains resolute that Ghana will not be a safe haven, transit point or operational base for international drug-trafficking organisations”.
They added that the Commission would continue to work with domestic and international law-enforcement partners to disrupt the people, finances and infrastructure sustaining the illicit drug trade.
NACOC further disclosed that the rights and legal protections of all persons under investigation would be respected.
The development follows French customs officials having intercepted nearly 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine, worth about $261 million, in a shipment from Ghana.
According to Reuters news, the shipment was confiscated at the northern French port of Dunkirk on Thursday, September 10, 2026.
The cocaine was concealed in 167 packages inside a container carrying plastic waste from Ghana and destined for Antwerp, Belgium.
The 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine is allegedly linked to the criminal organisation of fugitive Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers.
Reports suggest the drugs have since been destroyed, with French prosecutors opening an investigation into the seizure.
According to French authorities, the seizure followed a targeted operation by the judicial police against a criminal network suspected of being behind the shipment, with the investigation focused on offences including the organised importation of narcotics and participation in a criminal association.
The seizure is expected to form part of the broader investigation into the movement of the cocaine from Ghana to France and the criminal network alleged to have organised the shipment.
@ghnow_ The national launch of the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response, aimed at improving emergency care and reducing maternal deaths across Ghana. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – Fanfairwrld
@ghnow_ Representatives of the Ga Mantse address guests at the national launch of the Presidential Initiative on Maternal Health Emergency Response. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
