By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Two British citizens accused of attempting to smuggle 166kg of cocaine worth $6m on a flight to London have been arrested in Ghana.
The suspects were scheduled to board a British Airways flight from Kotoka International Airport in Accra, travelling to Gatwick Airport, before their ‘luggage raised suspicion’.
The duo had hidden the cocaine between six suitcases destined for London, Ghana’s Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC) claimed.
They allegedly divided the drugs into 72 parcels for transit, according to state-owned outlet The Daily Graphic.
“The two have accordingly been arrested, assisting investigations,” a statement by NACOC read in part, noting the help of the UK’s National Crime Agency in carrying out the sting.
The suspects were identified as Hall Shamin Ethline and Graham Omar Adel.
“Luggage of Hall Shamin Ethline contained a total of 83.44KG of suspected cocaine, along with her personal items.
“Luggage of Graham Omar Adel contained a total of 83,44KG of suspected cocaine, along with his personal items,” the statement said.
Ghana has made efforts to manage the emergence of dangerous drug trafficking groups.
The Organised Crime Index rated Ghana as ‘among the most important African transit countries for cocaine trafficked globally and across Africa’.
Heritage Times HT reports that Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime warned how expanding criminal markets were shaping society ‘profoundly’, ‘with cocaine outpacing human smuggling as the dominant market across the region between 2021 and 2023’.
Ghana sought a radical solution by seeking alternatives to lengthy prison sentences for drug possession in the country in 2020.
