'Who Is Checking Our Ports?': NPP's Dr Frank Bannor Questions Security After 2.6-Tonne Cocaine Shipment From Tema Reaches Spain

The New Patriotic Party's Spokesperson on Economy and Finance, Dr Frank Bannor, has demanded answers on how 2,600 kilogrammes of cocaine left Tema Port undetected and reached Spain, questioning whether port officials may be complicit in drug trafficking. His comments follow Spain's announcement that it intercepted the consignment—hidden in a coconut shipment—at Valencia on August 22, with two arrests made during unloading.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM Show on Thursday, November 12, Dr Bannor said the sheer volume of narcotics involved raised fundamental questions about Ghana's border monitoring capacity and international reputation .

"It is important to know that we have 2,600 kilogrammes of cocaine transiting through a port like Tema Port. Imagine 2,600 kilogrammes worth of any item. Imagine even having hand luggage filled with cocaine, weighing less than 20 kilogrammes," he said . "What kind of picture are we painting of our country?"

The Timeline That Troubles

Dr Bannor zeroed in on the shipment's timeline. According to Spanish authorities, the two containers were loaded at Tema Port on August 2, 2026, and arrived at the Port of Valencia on August 22—20 days later. The cocaine was concealed beneath false bottoms in wooden crates declared to contain coconuts .

"If you read the investigative report that was released yesterday, it said the shipment left Tema Port on 2 August. So it is not like it did not go through our international borders. The necessary checkpoints where this cocaine should have been detected, it went through them, and it arrived in Spain and was busted 20 days later," he stated .

He questioned how such a large consignment could pass through Tema's scanning systems without detection, and whether individuals within the port system facilitated its movement. "Is it that, for the purposes of illustration, certain people at our ports are complicit as far as this illicit drug transit is concerned?" he asked, without providing evidence implicating any specific official or institution .

Spain's Operation: A Controlled Delivery

Spanish authorities selected the containers for inspection after flagging them as high-risk during routine international trade monitoring. Officers from the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil discovered the cocaine hidden in false-bottomed crates, with a full layer of packages in each box. Field tests confirmed the substance was cocaine hydrochloride .

Rather than making immediate arrests, investigators removed the drugs, resealed the containers, and tracked them to a warehouse in Viator, Almería. Two men were arrested during unloading—the suspected importer and the person responsible for supervising the discharge . The identities and nationalities of the suspects have not been disclosed.

Ghanaian Arrests Reported

Separately, Eric Edem Agbana, Member of Parliament for Ketu North, said on TV3's New Day that arrests have been made in Ghana following collaboration between the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and Spanish authorities. "The information I have is that NACOC and the Spanish authorities collaborated. That is why we have made arrests here in Ghana and the items have also been arrested in Spain," he said .

The Spanish authorities' public account confirms only the two arrests in Spain and does not independently establish the reported arrests in Ghana or NACOC's role .

Background: A Pattern of Seizures

The Valencia interception is the latest in a series of major cocaine seizures linked to Ghana. In September 2026, French authorities discovered approximately 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in a container of plastic waste that had departed Tema Port, intercepted at Dunkirk. Six suspects were later arraigned in Ghana, including four linked to the Ghana Revenue Authority, with allegations centering on the customs scanning process . In October, Lebanese authorities seized 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine at Beirut airport from a passenger who had travelled from Accra .

Domestically, police in August seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari and konkonte at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave .

The recurring seizures have intensified scrutiny of Ghana's cargo screening procedures and the roles of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, and NACOC. In October, NACOC Director-General Major-General Maxwell Obuba Mantey visited Tema Harbour to inspect scanning facilities and called for stronger inter-agency collaboration .

Growing Calls for Accountability

Dr Bannor's concerns echo broader demands for transparency. Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President of IMANI Africa, has described the situation as "a national disaster and disgrace" and called for an independent parliamentary inquiry, saying "heads must roll from the top now" . Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, also weighed in, warning President John Dramani Mahama over the repeated seizures .

The Spanish authorities have not publicly established where the cocaine originated or whether it was loaded into the containers in Ghana. The fact that the containers departed Tema identifies Ghana as the shipment's point of departure but does not by itself establish Ghana as the source of the narcotic . Ghanaian authorities have not yet issued a comprehensive response to the latest seizure.