Deputy Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), has reassured the public that the cocaine seized in a recent operation will be securely managed and properly disposed of once the case is concluded.

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Appearing on TV3 on Saturday, April 26, Barima emphasized that there is no reason to worry about the handling of the drugs.

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He affirmed, "These are men of integrity, men who will not bend any curve," indicating the trustworthiness of NACOC officials involved.

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Barima also took the opportunity to distinguish the current administration's approach from that of the past, asserting that under the previous government, the public could not be sure of such integrity.

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“Under Mahama, you will not hear this cock and bull story that substance left our exhibit room, came back, and turned into something,” he remarked.

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He clarified that once cocaine is intercepted, it is kept in secure exhibit rooms until the court directs its disposal. "We usually burn them," he noted, stressing that the drugs cannot be disposed of until the legal process is complete.

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"We cannot dispose of them on our own," Barima continued. "If tomorrow you are asked to produce them as an exhibit, what do you do? We keep them until the court gives further and better directives."

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This reassurance came after private legal practitioner and NDC member Abraham Amaliba raised questions about the disposal process.

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Amaliba, speaking on the same TV program, urged authorities to clarify how seized drugs are disposed of, asking, "I want to know what happened to the earlier consignment, have they been destroyed?"

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Amaliba also commended the work of security agencies in cracking down on drug traffickers but raised concerns about the lack of such efforts under the previous administration.

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"In recent times, you have realized that the security agencies are doing much work to arrest these drug barons," he said. "But in the past 8 years, what were the state agencies doing? They weren’t making these arrests."

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Reflecting on Ghana’s evolving role in the global drug trade, Amaliba added, “In just three months, they’ve made more arrests than in the last eight years.”

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This discussion follows the interception of a significant cocaine shipment on April 23 at the Swiss Port.

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NACOC authorities discovered 73 slabs of the drug, totaling 89.74 kilograms, which were being prepared for export to the Netherlands.

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Four individuals have been arrested, and investigations are ongoing.

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