A Member of Ghana’s Parliament has slammed the decision to allow suspects in the Ghana Airport Cocaine Smuggling Scandal to receive two-thirds of their salaries while on interdiction.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed outrage over the handling of suspects in the ongoing Ghana Airport Cocaine Smuggling Scandal. According to intercepted letters of interdiction, key suspects are set to receive two-thirds of their salaries while in interdiction, a move the MP has slammed as ‘absolutely ridiculous’ and insufficient as a deterrent.
“This is absolutely ridiculous and does not serve as sufficient deterrence to other operatives at the Kotoka International Airport who may be tempted to engage in such egregious conduct” said the MP.
Mr. Ablakwa’s outrage is further fueled by the fact that while the state can refund salaries to interdicted suspects who are acquitted, it is virtually impossible to retrieve these salaries from those found to be complicit.
He is demanding answers to several questions, including what makes airport officials in Belgium more effective at detecting cocaine smuggling than their Ghanaian counterparts, despite massive investments in Terminal 3.
“The questions we ought to be asking: what makes airport officials in Belgium see what Ghanaian airport officials refuse to see despite the massive investments at Terminal 3?” Mr. Ablakwa said.
According to the legislature, he’s questioning why some Ghanaian airport operatives are not scared of the consequences of aiding cocaine smugglers. The MP is calling for a strict and uncompromising attitude in the war against drug smuggling, which Ghana is ‘disgracefully losing’ with dire international implications.
The ranking member of parliament’s foreign affairs committee made this revelation on a Facebook post advocating for a new era at Ghana’s airports, where all officials recognize that there is a heavy price to pay for complicity in drug smuggling, rather than the current practice of receiving a two-thirds salary for no work done.
The MP’s statement concludes with a call to action, urging Ghana to prioritize its interests and take a tough stance against drug smuggling.
STORY BACKGROUND
The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) interdicted some staff following a recent cocaine smuggling incident at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
The decision was contained in a statement released by the GACL following the interception of a significant quantity of illegal drugs at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
According to reports, the cocaine was smuggled through KIA aboard the Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc, with the assistance of a GACL staff member on March 23, 2024.
A Dutch national, Proeger Delgey Bianca, was apprehended at Brussels Airport with 8.5 kilograms of suspected cocaine, believed to have been transported through KIA on the said date.
