This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ACCRA 002554 
 
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
SUBJECT: 2005-2006 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY 
REPORT, PART I DRUGS AND CHEMICAL CONTROL DIVERSION CONTROL 
- GHANA 
 
REF: STATE 209558 
 
¶I. Summary 
 
Ghana has taken 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 and suspected drug trafficking 
by a Member of Parliament surfaced this year.  Ghana-U.S. 
law enforcement coordination strengthened in 2005. 
Interagency coordination among Ghana's law enforcement, 
however, remained a challenge and attempts to establish an 
anti-corruption unit at the Customs, Excise & Preventive 
Service were stalled. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
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 (KIA) 
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 drug 
trafficking activity.  In 2005, Nigerian traffickers 
continued to strengthen their presence, and some South 
American narcotics rings trafficking cocaine began operating 
in Ghana.  Trafficking has also fueled increasing domestic 
drug consumption.  Cannabis use is increasing in Ghana as is 
local cultivation.  Law enforcement officials have 
repeatedly raised concerns that narcotics rings are growing 
in their size, strength, organization and capacity for 
violence.  The government has mounted significant public 
education programs, as well as cannabis crop substitution 
programs. Production of precursor chemicals is not a major 
problem. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2004 
POLICY INITIATIVES:  The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) 
coordinates government efforts involving counternarcotics 
activities.  These activities include enforcement and 
control, education, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, 
and social reintegration.  The NCB's counternarcotics 
national strategy, the "National Plan of Action 1999/2008", 
was never implemented due to lack of funding.  However, in 
2005 the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) financed three 
projects: 1)the upgrade of a rehabilitation and treatment 
center run by REMAR, a Spanish non-governmental 
organization; 2) training of judges and officials of the 
Narcotics Control Board, Ghana Police, the Customs, Excise & 
Preventive Service and other agencies to combat 
transnational organized crime, including narcotics and 
associated financial crimes; and 3) a survey to measure the 
prevalence of drug abuse and its correlation to HIV/AIDS in 
Ghana.  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. The NCB 
also called for amendment of PNDC Law 236 (1990) to enable 
it to confiscate property and assets purchased by identified 
drug dealers using illegal proceeds. 
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Figures for 2005 show an 11 percent 
increase in narcotics arrests (782 for January through 
September 2005 compared to 705 for the same period in 2004). 
More than 80 percent of these arrests are for cannabis. 
Despite the upward trend in arrests, the amount of cocaine 
seized remained steady while that of heroin dropped to one 
tenth of its 2004 level.  The NCB said narcotics rings find 
trafficking cocaine to Europe easier and more profitable 
than obtaining heroin from the Far East and trafficking it 
to the U.S.  The Ghana Police Service's campaign to destroy 
cannabis farms in the Upper East and Eastern Regions 
accounted for a nearly 18-fold increase in seizures in 2005. 
Overall, 2005 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 2005, sharing information, as 
well as extraditing American citizen Carmella Warren, who 
had previously escaped imprisonment in Ghana. In turn, Ghana 
extradited two Ghanaian citizens, Elizabeth Owusu Manu and 
Evans Kwesi Atta, to be tried in the United States for 
narcotics offenses.  The January 2004 interception of 588 
kilograms of cocaine in Tema, Ghana's major port city about 
20 km from the capital city, represents one of the best 
examples of interagency cooperation between the Narcotics 
Control Board, the Ghana Police Service, and British 
intelligence. Each of the six suspects, five of whom were 
foreign nationals, were convicted in October 2004 and 
sentenced to no less than 10 years' imprisonment.  In one of 
the largest drug busts of 2005, Ghana Police arrested two 
suspected narcotics ring members claiming Venezuelan 
citizenship on November 12 in Mpaesem, Ghana. The police 
seized 580 kilograms of cocaine. 
The NCB's national drug education efforts continued in 
schools and churches, heightening citizens' awareness of the 
fight against narcotics and traffickers. In 2005, the NCB 
continued broadcasting TV programs to explain narcotics' 
effects on the human body, individual users and society, 
which are being broadcast on state television in local 
languages.  On June 26, the NCB organized an event in Cape 
Coast to highlight drug abuse in Ghana in conjunction with 
the UN's International Day Against Drug Abuse and 
Trafficking.  In October and November 2004, using Department 
of State funding, U.S. Department of Justice ICITAP trainers 
conducted a four-week counternarcotics training course 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 seaports and was declared highly successful and 
received widespread press coverage. In 2005, 13 security 
agency officials also attended training in narcotics 
enforcement operations and airport and seaport interdiction 
at the Regional Drug Law Enforcement Training Center in Jos, 
Nigeria.  In August 2005, the U.S. government signed an 
agreement to provide Ghana's law enforcement agencies with 
an additional $200,000 in assistance to fight narcotics 
trafficking. 
LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS: In 2005, 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 Ghana Police Service has 
assigned several investigators to narcotics cases, holds 
suspects in its cells and prepares such cases for docket. 
The NCB continued to work with DHL, UPS, and Federal Express 
to intercept packages containing narcotics. 
The NCB reported that from January to September 2005 arrests 
rose by 40 percent for cocaine and 20 percent for cannabis 
compared to the same period the prior year. Meanwhile, 
arrests for heroin dropped to nearly one-third of their 2004 
level.  (See "Accomplishments" regarding trends in 
seizures.) 
The NCB reported that prices of cocaine, heroin and cannabis 
remained steady. In 2005, a gram of cocaine sold for cedis 
168,350 ($18.50 at the current exchange rate). A cocaine 
booster sold for cedis 12,000 ($1.32), while crack cocaine 
sold for cedis 5,000 ($.55). A gram of heroin sold for cedis 
145,600 ($16). A heroin booster sold for cedis 10,000 
($1.10). The price of a small parcel of cannabis in 2005 was 
approximately cedis 5,000 ($.55), while a wrapper or joint 
sold for cedis 1,000 ($.11). Successful interdiction efforts 
increased these prices temporarily, but the NCB said they 
fluctuated near this level throughout the year. 
CORRUPTION: Despite the regular 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.  The 
backlog of cases pending trial and the limited resources 
facing the judiciary remain problems in controlling drug 
trafficking in Ghana. 
The Customs, Excise & Prevention Service (CEPS) says finding 
a location away from its headquarters, a search that had 
been underway for several months at the time of this report, 
has kept it from establishing an internal affairs unit. 
On October 9, a supervisor of KIA's cargo handling company 
was arrested attempting to smuggle cocaine using an airport 
tractor and his unusual access to an airplane. Media outlets 
alleged that this occurred with either the approval or the 
involvement of ruling party officials. 
On November 11, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
officers arrested Eric Amoateng, a Member of Ghana's 
Parliament, during the seizure of 62 kilograms of heroin. 
Amoateng has been provisionally charged and arraigned and is 
expected to face trial on drug trafficking charges in the 
U.S. 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 2004, the NCB was held in 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 request not to permit 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 Ghanaian citizen possessing a Dutch passport, 
has since traveled in and out of Ghana while on bail. In 
August 2005, the Attorney General's office filed an appeal 
to protest a retiring judge's acquittal of two of these 
suspected traffickers. 
In 2004 and 2005, there were no cases of alleged evidence 
tampering. In August 2004, four police officers were 
arraigned and charged with taking bribes from drug 
traffickers in October 2001.  On April 30, the Ghana Police 
interdicted two policemen who allegedly facilitated a 
suspected Nigerian drug trafficker's escape from custody. 
On May 27, the Ghana Police Criminal Investigations Division 
took into custody two suspected traffickers and four 
policemen who allegedly demanded a $60,000 bribe to release 
the traffickers when they first encountered them with 
narcotics. On June 14, all six were granted bail. 
AGREEMENTS AND TREATIES:  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. Additionally, Ghana is a member of 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: 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 2005, combined NCB and police teams 
continued to investigate cannabis production and 
distribution, and to destroy cultivated cannabis farms and 
plants. In October 2005, a joint-operation between the NCB 
and police destroyed three acres of cannabis in Akatsi and 
took two Ghanaians and two Jamaicans into custody.  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 expanded the program from 120 farmers in 2004 to 325 in 
¶2005.  The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs also 
donated two cassava processing plants to the Essam, Eastern 
Region community to provide alternative income to farmers 
growing cannabis. 
DRUG FLOW/TRANSIT:  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 lucrative 
concealment method uses carry-on, wheeled luggage.  Drug 
traffickers have grown increasingly inventive.  In November 
2004, British Customs and Excise seized 23 kilograms of 
cocaine hidden in live snails from Ghana at London's 
Heathrow Airport. Investigators have found cocaine packed as 
fish and packaged cannabis concealed in smocks and sacks of 
processed cassava. 
Although there is no hard evidence that drugs transiting 
Ghana contribute significantly to the supply of drugs to the 
U.S. market, there are indications that direct shipments to 
the United States are on the rise.  Accra is an increasingly 
important transshipment point from Africa. In November 2004, 
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 U.S. Midwest. The 
November 11 arrest of a Ghanaian parliamentarian indicated a 
similar flow of heroin to the New York area.  In the past, 
direct flights from Accra played an important role in the 
transshipment of heroin to the U.S. by West African 
trafficking organizations.  In July 2004, the Federal 
Aviation Administration banned Ghana's only direct flights 
to the United States for safety reasons.  However, this did 
not appear to reduce the trafficking of drugs between the 
two countries.  Instead, drug traffickers rerouted the flow 
through Europe, according to the NCB.  On October 9, the NCB 
arrested a cargo handling supervisor attempting to smuggle 
12 kilograms of cocaine through the country's sole 
international airport.  Combined with almost weekly arrests 
of mules and airline complaints, this arrest raises concerns 
about the volume of narcotics transited by air through 
Ghana.  The NCB reports that narcotics air transit through 
Ghana has reduced somewhat in favor of land routes to 
Abidjan, largely due to the break down of law and order in 
Cote d'Ivoire, which favors narcotics traffickers.  The 
biggest challenge in Ghana, however, is the unpatrolled 
coastline. 
DOMESTIC PROGRAMS:  The NCB works with schools, professional 
training institutions, churches, local governments, and the 
general public to reduce local drug 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 observed the International Day Against 
Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, in Cape 
Coast, Central 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. 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
U.S. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:  The USG's counternarcotics 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:  In 2002, the United States provided 
the Government of Ghana counternarcotics assistance in the 
form of surveillance and detection equipment, worth $64,000, 
including two narcotics detection devices ("Itemizers") 
installed at Kotoka International Airport in December 2003. 
Similar equipment funded in FY 2000 and FY 2001 is 
effectively maintained and has facilitated a number of drug 
arrests and seizures.  Funding provided in FY 2002 for 
training for the Police will continue to assist in 
suppressing corruption and strengthening the capacity of the 
police to interdict illegal drugs.  A four-week, interagency 
counternarcotics training course, funded by the U.S. in FY 
2002 and focused on drug interdiction at Ghana's air and 
seaports, took place in November 2004.  Future assistance, 
committed in August 2005, will focus on advanced narcotics 
investigations skills, airport interdiction and financial 
crimes investigations. 
THE ROAD AHEAD:  The USG's major policy goals are improved 
narcotics interdiction, investigative capabilities, and 
prosecutorial successes.  Tougher confiscation provisions, 
with a portion of such resources dedicated to fighting 
narcotics trafficking, would strengthen Ghana's anti- 
narcotics regime.  Better oversight of financial 
transactions is particularly important given the potential 
for any narcotics financial networks to be used by terrorist 
organizations or for internal corruption. 
PAMELA E. BRIDGEWATER