US embassy cable - 04ACCRA2517

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ACCRA 002517 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL, JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS, TREASURY 
FOR FINCEN, DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, GH, narcotics 
SUBJECT: GHANA: INCSR PART I 
 
REF: A. STATE 248987 
     B. STATE 254401 
 
This is post's response to reftel A and is the first draft 
for Ghana's 2004 International Narcotics Strategy Control 
Report (INCSR). The second part of Ghana's submission for the 
2004 INCSR, reporting on money laundering and financial 
crimes, will follow septel per reftel B. 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. Ghana takes steps to combat illicit trafficking of 
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and has mounted 
major efforts against drug abuse. It has active enforcement, 
treatment, and rehabilitation programs; however, lack of 
resources remains a problem. Ghana-U.S. law enforcement 
coordination continued in 2004, and Ghana's law enforcement 
agencies took steps to deepen interagency coordination. Ghana 
is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
----------------- 
Status of Country 
----------------- 
 
2. Ghana is increasingly a transit point for illegal drugs, 
particularly cocaine from South America and heroin from 
Southeast and Southwest Asia. Europe remains the major 
destination, but drugs also flow to South Africa and to North 
America. Accra's Kotoka International Airport is increasingly 
a focus for traffickers. Ports at Tema and Sekondi are also 
used, and border posts at Aflao (Togo) and Elubo and Sampa 
(Cote d'Ivoire) see significant traffic. Nigerian traffickers 
continue to strengthen their presence in Ghana as it becomes 
a major transportation hub. Trafficking has also fueled 
increasing domestic consumption. Cannabis use is increasing 
in Ghana, as is local cultivation. The government has mounted 
significant public education programs, as well as cannabis 
crop substitution programs.  Production of precursor 
chemicals is not a major problem. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Country Actions Against Drugs in 2004 
------------------------------------- 
 
Policy Initiatives 
------------------ 
 
3. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) coordinates government 
efforts involving counter-narcotics activities. These 
activities include enforcement and control, education, 
prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social 
re-integration. The NCB's counter-narcotics national 
strategy, the &National Plan of Action 1999-20038, was 
never implemented due to lack of funding. However, in 2004 
the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) financed three 
demand reduction projects selected from the National Plan of 
Action: 1) training 110 Ghana Education Service counselors 
(one per district in the country) on drug abuse prevention; 
2) working with the Department of Social Welfare to provide 
vocational training to those completing drug treatment 
programs; and 3) producing a drug education guide for 
teachers throughout the country. Each year since 1999, the 
NCB has proposed to amend the 1990 narcotics law to allow 
stricter application of bail bond system (i.e., no general 
granting of bail when flight is a real possibility; higher 
sureties to assure that defendants appear for trial) and to 
fund NCB operations using a portion of seized proceeds, but 
the Attorney General,s office has not acted on these 
proposals. 
 
Accomplishments 
--------------- 
 
4. Comparing seizure data from the first three quarters of 
2003 and 2004 (based on figures from January-September 2004) 
reveals that quantities of cocaine, heroin and cannabis 
seized have all increased. The number of persons arrested 
with heroin and cocaine has also increased in this period, 
while the number of people arrested with cannabis decreased. 
Overall, 2004 saw the highest number of drug trafficking 
arrests on record. The NCB and other law enforcement agencies 
continued their successful cooperation with U.S. law 
enforcement agencies in 2004, sharing information as well as 
preparing to extradite an American citizen and a Ghanaian 
citizen to be tried in the United States for narcotics 
offenses. In January, the Narcotics Control Board and the 
Ghana Police Service Drug Enforcement Unit, aided by British 
intelligence, intercepted 588.33 kilograms of cocaine in 
Tema, Ghana,s major port city about 20k from the capital 
city. The bust was West Africa,s largest ever drug bust. All 
six suspects, five of whom were foreign nationals, were 
convicted in October and sentenced to significant jail time 
with hard labor. 
 
5. The NCB's national drug education efforts continued in 
schools and churches, heightening citizens' awareness of the 
fight against narcotics and traffickers. On June 27, the NCB 
organized an event in Kumasi to highlight drug abuse in Ghana 
in conjunction with the UN,s International Day Against Drug 
Abuse and Trafficking. At this launch, the UNODC announced 
that it would assist Ghana in establishing rehabilitation 
centers for drug addicts, and a pilot project in Accra has 
since been launched. 
 
6. In October and November 2004, using Department of State 
INL funding, ICITAP trainers conducted a four-week 
counter-narcotics training in Ghana for thirty officers from 
the Ghana Narcotics Control Board, Ghana Police Service, 
Ghana Immigration Service, the Customs and Excise Protective 
Service, and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. The 
train-the-trainer program, conducted in two 2-week sessions, 
focused mainly on drug interdiction at air and sea ports and 
was declared a highly successful training, receiving 
widespread press coverage. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts 
----------------------- 
 
7. In 2004, Ghanaian law enforcement agencies continued to 
conduct joint police-NCB operations against narcotics 
cultivators, traffickers, and abusers. NCB agents, who are 
not armed, rely upon the police's Criminal Investigative 
Division's (CID) narcotics unit in situations requiring armed 
force. The drug bust in January (see above) was an example of 
such a joint operation. The NCB continued to work with DHL, 
UPS, and Federal Express to intercept packages containing 
narcotics. 
 
8. The NCB reports a slight drop in the prices of cocaine, 
heroin and cannabis from 2003. In 2004, a gram of cocaine 
sells for cedis 168,350 ($18.50 at the current exchange rate) 
compared to cedis 133,350 ($15.30) in 2003. A cocaine booster 
sells for cedis 12,000 ($1.32), while crack cocaine sells for 
cedis 5,000 ($.55). A gram of heroin sells for cedis 145,600 
($16) compared to 173,550 ($20) in 2003. A heroin booster 
sells for cedis 10,000 ($1.10). The price of a small parcel 
of cannabis in 2004 is approximately cedis 5,000 ($.55) in 
2004, while a wrapper or joint sells for cedis 1,000 ($.11). 
There was a sudden increase in the prices of all narcotics 
after the January bust (see above), but the prices dropped 
again soon afterward. 
 
Corruption 
---------- 
 
9. Despite the consistent number of arrests of suspected 
narcotics traffickers, Ghana has an extremely low rate of 
conviction, which law enforcement officials indicate is 
likely due to corruption within the judicial system. As an 
example from one region of the country, between 2001 and June 
2004, of the 667 cases of drug dealers and traffickers 
reported in the Ashanti Region, only 244 persons had been 
convicted and sentenced. The backlog of cases pending trial 
and the limited resources facing the judiciary remain a 
problem in controlling drug trafficking in Ghana. The total 
number of arrests made between January and September 2004 was 
705. The NCB estimates that the Ashanti Region prosecution 
statistics are better than the national average. 
 
10. NCB officials complain that courts often release 
suspected smugglers, including foreign nationals, on bail 
that is often set at only a tiny fraction of the value of the 
drugs found in a suspect's possession. The court requirement 
of a surety in addition to bail is often either dropped, or 
court registrars will fraudulently use the identical property 
as surety for multiple cases. In September, the NCB was 
called into contempt of court for withholding the passports 
of suspects charged with drug trafficking who had been 
released on bail. The NCB retained the passports while they 
waited for the Attorney General to file a stay of execution 
on the bail, which was ultimately never filed. The NCB 
eventually had to turn over the passports on a court order. 
At least one of the suspects in this case, a Dutch national, 
has since traveled in and out of Ghana while on bail. 
 
11. Unlike in 2003, there were no cases of possible evidence 
tampering in 2004. 
 
12. In August 2004, four police officers were arraigned and 
charged with taking bribes from drug traffickers in October 
2001.No further action was taken on this case in 2004. 
 
Agreements and Treaties 
----------------------- 
 
13. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 
UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN 
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 
Protocol. U.S.-Ghana extradition relations are governed by 
the 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty, to which Ghana acceded 
at independence. Additionally, Ghana is a party to the 
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol 
Agreement, which includes an extradition provision among 
member states. In 2003, Ghana signed a bilateral Customs 
Mutual Assistance Agreement with the United States. 
 
Cultivation and Production 
-------------------------- 
 
14. Cannabis (also known as Indian hemp) is widely cultivated 
in rural farmlands. The Volta, Brong-Ahafo, Western, and 
Ashanti regions are principal growing areas. Most is consumed 
locally; some is trafficked to neighboring and European 
countries. Cannabis is usually harvested in September and 
October, and law enforcement teams increase their 
surveillance and investigation efforts at these times. In 
2004, combined NCB and police teams continued to investigate 
cannabis production and distribution, and to destroy 
cultivated cannabis farms and plants. 
 
15. In February 2003, the NCB implemented a pilot program 
designed to reduce the area under cultivation, under which 
140 marijuana cultivators volunteered to give up marijuana in 
exchange for government assistance with planting and 
processing new food crops and immunity from prosecution. The 
NCB plans to expand the program to an additional 120 farmers 
that have registered for assistance, although the resources 
were not available to do so in 2004. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit 
----------------- 
 
16. Cocaine and heroin are the main drugs that transit Ghana. 
Cocaine is sourced mainly from South America and destined for 
Europe, while heroin comes mainly from Southeast and 
Southwest Asia on its way to Europe and North America. 
Cannabis is shipped primarily to Europe, specifically to the 
United Kingdom. Narcotics are sometimes repackaged in Ghana 
for reshipment, and the most recent trend in concealment 
method is in carry-on, wheeled luggage. 
 
17. While in absolute terms, drugs transiting Ghana do not 
yet contribute significantly to the supply of drugs to the 
U.S. market, Accra is an increasingly important transshipment 
point from Africa. There are some indications that direct 
shipments into the United States is on the rise. In November, 
two alleged leaders of a drug smuggling ring from Ghana were 
indicted in Columbus, Ohio for shipping heroin for 
distribution across central Ohio, indicating a direct flow of 
illicit narcotics from Ghana into the Midwest U.S. Direct 
flights from Accra play an important role in the 
transshipment of heroin to the U.S. by West African 
trafficking organizations. Because of safety problems, the 
U.S. FAA imposed a ban in July 2004 on flights into the U.S. 
by Ghana,s flagship carrier, the only provider of direct 
flights from Ghana to the U.S. However, according to the NCB, 
this did not reduce the drug trafficking from Ghana to the 
U.S., but re-routed the flow through Europe. The NCB reports 
that narcotics air transit through Ghana has reduced somewhat 
in favor of land routes to Abidjan, largely due to the 
instability in Cote d'Ivoire, which creates more favorable 
conditions there for narcotics traffickers. The biggest 
challenge in Ghana, however, are the seaports, as most of the 
coastal border is unmonitored and entry points are more 
porous. According to the NCB, the seaports allow greater 
quantities of narcotics to come through at places where there 
are weak patrol systems in place. 
 
Domestic Programs 
----------------- 
 
18. The NCB works with schools, professional training 
institutions, churches, local governments, and the general 
public to reduce local consumption. The Ministries of Health 
and Education further coordinate their efforts through their 
representatives on the Board. Board Members and staff 
frequently host public lectures, participate in radio 
discussion programs, and encourage newspaper articles on the 
dangers of drug abuse and trafficking. Ghana's National Day 
Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was celebrated on 
June 27, in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. Although treatment 
programs have lagged behind preventative education and 
enforcement due to lack of funding, there are three 
government psychiatric hospitals receiving drug patients, and 
three private facilities in Accra, run by local NGOs, also 
assisting drug abusers. 
------------------------------------ 
U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
------------------------------------ 
U.S. Goals and Objectives 
------------------------- 
 
19. The USG's counter-narcotics and anticrime goals in Ghana 
are to strengthen Ghanaian law enforcement capacity 
generally, to improve interdiction capacities, to enhance the 
NCB's office and field operation functions, and to reduce 
Ghana's role as a transit point for narcotics. 
Bilateral Cooperation 
--------------------- 
 
20. In 2002, the United States provided the Government of 
Ghana with $84,000 worth of counter-narcotics assistance in 
the form of surveillance and detection equipment, including 
two narcotics detection devices (&itemizers8) installed at 
Kotoka International Airport in December 2003. Similar 
equipment funded in FY2000 and FY2001 is effectively 
maintained and has facilitated a number of drug arrests and 
seizures. FY2002 funding provided training for the Police and 
CEPS to create Internal Affairs Units, which will assist in 
suppressing corruption and strengthening their capacity to 
interdict illegal drugs. FY2002 money also funded a 
four-week, interagency counter-narcotics training focusing on 
drug interdiction at Ghana,s air and sea ports, which took 
place in November 2004. 
 
The Road Ahead 
-------------- 
 
21. Improved narcotics interdiction, investigative 
capabilities, and prosecutorial successes sum up the USG's 
major policy goals. A focus on improved oversight of 
financial transactions is a particular concern, given the 
potential for any narcotics financial networks to be used by 
terrorist organizations. 
LANIER