NACOC Defends Controlled Delivery Strategy in Beirut Cocaine Case, Says Suspects Kept in Dark to Expose Networks

The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has defended its decision to allow a suspected drug courier to leave Ghana with 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine, explaining that keeping suspects unaware is a deliberate tactic designed to expose trafficking networks and identify weaknesses in the country's enforcement systems.

Deputy Director-General Alexander Twum-Barimah, speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, said controlled-delivery operations require that the individual transporting a consignment remain uninformed so that investigators can trace the people orchestrating the trade rather than simply apprehending the courier.

"When we are doing controlled delivery on you, you, the individual, are kept in the dark and you don't know what is happening," Twum-Barimah said. He explained that the strategy serves two objectives: identifying the individuals behind the drug trade and analysing loopholes within Ghana's enforcement mechanisms that criminal networks could exploit.

What Controlled Delivery Entails

Controlled delivery is a recognised international investigative technique defined under the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances as allowing illicit or suspect consignments to pass out of, through or into the territory of one or more countries with the knowledge and under the supervision of competent authorities, with a view to identifying persons involved in the offence . The technique is used to map complete criminal schemes and dismantle organised criminal groups, rather than merely intercepting individual shipments .

The Beirut Seizure

The controversy stems from the October 31 seizure at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, where Lebanese Customs intercepted a Syrian national arriving from Accra on a Middle East Airlines flight. Authorities discovered 40 packages of cocaine concealed in two checked bags, reportedly wrapped in specialised insulation and fitted with electronic tracking devices. Lebanese officials described it as the largest narcotics interception in the airport's history .

The passenger had been allowed to depart Accra under surveillance as part of a coordinated operation between Ghanaian and Lebanese authorities. Less than 72 hours later, NACOC arrested three foreign nationals—a Syrian, a Tunisian and a Lebanese citizen, comprising two men and a woman—in separate intelligence-led operations across Accra on November 3 .

Political Fallout Intensifies

The operation has drawn sharp scrutiny from opposition figures and civil society. Former Sekondi MP Andrew Egyapa Mercer has called for a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into all Ghana-linked cocaine seizures since January 2025, demanding public hearings and a joint statement from President John Dramani Mahama and Lebanese authorities to clarify whether the Beirut operation was genuinely Ghana-led .

The New Patriotic Party has gone further, demanding the dismissal of the heads of NACOC, the Ghana Airports Company Limited, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and National Security, citing what it claims are at least 14 major drug seizures linked to Ghana between March 2025 and October 2026. The party also wants the government to publish the names, nationalities and charges of all suspects arrested in connection with the Beirut consignment .

IMANI Africa's Bright Simons, speaking on the same Newsfile programme, raised questions about the accounts provided by Ghanaian and Lebanese authorities, suggesting inconsistencies in the narrative .

NACOC has maintained that the operation demonstrated the value of cross-border intelligence-sharing and coordinated enforcement. The three suspects remain in custody, and authorities have said their identities will be withheld until formal charges are filed. Joint investigations with Lebanese authorities are ongoing .