US embassy cable - 05ACCRA2316

UNCLAS ACCRA 002316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
PLEASE PASS TO JOHN LYLE AND ERENI ROESS AT INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, GH, narcotics 
SUBJECT: GHANA'S INTERIOR MINISTER DISCUSSES NARCOTICS, 
PRISONS 
 
REF: ACCRA 01644 
 
1. (U) Summary: On November 2, the Ambassador paid a courtesy 
call on the Minister of Interior Papa Owusu Ankomah. The 
Minister emphasized Ghana's increasing role as a transit 
point for narcotics and pressed for further narcotics 
enforcement assistance.  He also acknowledged Ghana's poor 
prison conditions and defects in the criminal justice system 
and said the Government of Ghana recognizes the need to 
address them. End Summary. 
 
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LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE 
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2. (U) The Ambassador noted the Government of Ghana's strong 
record of law enforcement cooperation and pointed out the 
breadth of law enforcement assistance the U.S. government 
plans to provide to Ghana.  This includes police training, 
$250,000 in anti-human trafficking training and assistance 
and $200,000 in additional narcotics enforcement assistance 
(see reftel).  The Ambassador also said the Embassy had 
nominated a number of law enforcement officials for 
International Visitor Progams. 
 
3. (SBU)  The Minister expressed concern about increasing 
narcotics traffic through Ghana, particularly cocaine 
trafficked from South America into Europe through Ghana. He 
noted that his law enforcement agencies are surveilling South 
American groups who do not appear to have any gainful 
employment or legitimate business activity in Ghana. (Note: 
The head of Ghana Police Service's Narcotics Unit told the 
Embassy he suspects Colombians now resident in Ghana are 
involved in the drug trade.)  The minister said he would 
submit a written proposal to the U.S. Embassy seeking further 
assistance to combat drug trafficking in Ghana. 
 
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PRISON ISSUES 
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4. (U)  The Ambassador raised the issue of congested prisons 
and the thousands of prisoners on remand who have never 
received a hearing or a trial.  (In his prior role as 
Attorney General, the Minister called for a review of all 
prisoners on remand in the fall 2004 after a senior Ghana 
Prisons Service official reported finding prisoners on remand 
for up to 10 years.) 
 
5. (U)  The Minister said he knew prisons were crowded and in 
poor condition. According to Owusu Ankomah, the Prisons 
Service had undertaken some improvements in the last year 
although he did not offer specifics or indicate whether 
inmate capacity had increased. He said incarcerating 
prisoners was costly, and the Government of Ghana will need 
to explore community-based sentencing as an alternative to 
prison terms to reduce its inmate population. 
 
BRIDGEWATER