INTERPOL: Ghana postal ring dismantled with 18.8 kg of marijuana for the UK
INTERPOL said authorities in Ghana dismantled a trafficking ring that used postal shipments, seizing 18.8 kg of marijuana in parcels bound for the United Kingdom. The seizure was one of the results the agency announced for Operation Lionfish Hurricane, a two-month, 31-country operation in April and May 2024 that produced 206 arrests across all drugs and countries.
In Ghana, a trafficking ring exploiting postal shipments was dismantled after
authorities seized18.8 kg of marijuana in parcels bound for the UK.[1]The
Ghanaian parcels were destined for the United Kingdom, the same INTERPOL account
adds.[2]
The Ghana case was one of the seizures INTERPOL published for Operation Lionfish
Hurricane, which ran in April and May 2024 in 31 countries targeting networks
spanning South America, Africa and Europe.[1]INTERPOL said the operation
produced 206 arrests across all the drugs and countries involved, without
breaking the figure down by country or substance.[1]The operation was funded
by the UK Home Office and involved the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre
(Narcotics), the WCO, UNODC and Expertise France.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Cannabis
18.8 kg
Agency
INTERPOL
Agency type
Other
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (18.8 kg)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Mail or parcel
Case stage
Under investigation
Operation
1 Apr 2024 – 31 May 2024
Region
Ghana
Route
Ghana → United Kingdom
Date
Approximate
Sources
INTERPOLinterpol.intFRRecord seizures in INTERPOL operation against drug trafficking
INTERPOL gives no date for the Ghana seizure; the operation ran in April and May 2024, and the incident date used here is an estimate within that period.
No place, Ghanaian agency, number of people arrested or court outcome was reported for the Ghana component.
The 206 arrests are an operation-wide figure covering all drugs and countries and cannot be attributed to the cannabis parcels.
The Epoch Times describes the amount as more than 41 pounds (about 18.6 kg) while INTERPOL gives 18.8 kg; the INTERPOL figure is used.
No Ghanaian source linking this seizure to Operation Lionfish Hurricane was found; NACOC reported intercepting 20.5 kg of UK-bound cannabis parcels at Accra postal and courier centres between 15 and 24 April 2024, but no opened source connects the two.
The DefenceWeb and Border Security Report texts reproduce INTERPOL's release, so they are not independent accounts.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in The Epoch Times: The Ghana seizure was also reported by other outlets that drew on INTERPOL's announcement, one of which put the amount at more than 41 pounds of marijuana destined for the UK.
Ghana Navy personnel with NACOC and National Security found 117 sacks of suspected Indian hemp, about 4.7 tonnes and valued at more than US$1 million, on two abandoned wooden boats at the Ada Estuary on 5 November 2026. The occupants fled before the patrol reached them, no arrests were made, and the sacks were handed to NACOC pending laboratory tests.
The Narcotics Control Commission destroyed 564.39 kilograms of cannabis at Bundase alongside synthetic opioids and codeine-infused cough mixture. The cannabis was valued at US$112,878, and the Ghana Standards Authority confirmed cannabis in samples before destruction.
The Tema Regional Police Command arrested 52-year-old Ibrahim Saani at New York, near Airport Junction, on 25 October 2026, retrieving 37 parcels of suspected Indian hemp and a crusher in an intelligence-led operation. Police say he may have been distributing in the area while feigning mental illness to hide his activities.
GRA Customs' Aflao Preventive Monitoring Unit tracked a black Lexus to Torve on the night of 15 October 2026; the driver fled after a mechanical fault and officers found 1,065 compressed parcels weighing 560.4 kg, worth GH¢11.2 million, now with NACOC.
