Ntim Fordjour raises alarm over non-functional narcotics scanners at Kotoka International Airport
The Member of Parliament for Assin South, and Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, Rev. Ntim Fordjour, has raised an alarm over what he described as a particularly worrying issue: the non-functional state of narcotics scanners at the Kotoka International Airport.
During an engagement with the media on Wednesday, Rev. Fordjour disclosed that the body scanners at the various ports of entry have broken down for over three months, rendering the borders porous and easy for the smuggling of illicit substances.
“For the past three to four months, the body scanners for narcotics substances at our ports, and various airports, are broken down, so anybody can just walk through and go away with or without substances that are illicit, and that makes it very dangerous, meaning narcotic substances can easily pass through our ports without being checked effectively,” he said.
The Defence and Interior Committee Ranking Member urged the government to, as a matter of urgency, release funds for the procurement of scanners to aid the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) in effectively checking and controlling the transportation of illicit substances through the country’s ports.
“If the government is so minded about supporting the country’s collective commitment to zero tolerance for narcotic substances and Ghana not becoming a transit point for such enterprises, then wherever money is, it should be a matter of emergency, it is so urgent that wherever money is, we find it and procure the scanners for NACOC officials,” he urged.
The Assin South MP explained that although there might be some security measures such as sniffer dogs at the ports, these measures are inadequate, calling on the government to prioritize the fight against narcotic substances and trafficking as an issue of national interest and “release funding to get the equipment procured to equip our men and women, and NACOC to effectively combat crime and narcotic flow” through the country’s borders.
Rev. Fordjour shared that concerns raised by persons regarding the transportation of illicit substances through the country’s ports, are not meant to make any government unpopular, but to protect the good reputation of the country.
“When we come out to raise issues about certain drugs that have gone in and come out, we are not doing it with malice, to paint any government black” he clarified “it is one country we all have, and we are all concerned about the good name the country must have.
“Politics aside, we don’t want our reputable name to be smeared as a country that opens its ports for the transit of such illicit substances,” he added.
About The Author
