NACOB intercepts 5,851 cannabis slabs bound for UK at Tema Port
NACOB officers found 5,851 one-kilogramme slabs of suspected cannabis hidden under yams in boxes bound for the United Kingdom at Tema Port on 7 March 2019, worth an estimated £29.2 million. Two freight forwarders were arrested, while a third suspect is on the run and the exporters behind the shipment are still sought.
Customs officers at the Tema Yam Park grew suspicious on Thursday 7 March 2019 when large quantities of yam boxes were brought in for export to the United Kingdom.[1][2]They called in Narcotics Control Board officers at the port, and the first opened box revealed yams packed over a compressed substance wrapped in yellow cellophane.[1][2]Searching every box, the officers found 5,851 compressed slabs of leaves suspected to be cannabis, which NACOB called the biggest narcotics bust in the country’s history.[1][2]
Two freight forwarders handling the shipment, Dominic Kojo Amenyo and Osae Akotua, were arrested and handed to the Tema Port Police for investigation.[1][2]Amenyo told investigators he was helping his colleague Osae process the yams for export to London and knew nothing of the concealed drug, while Osae said a third forwarder named only as Bright had asked him to handle the documents.[1][2]NACOB executive secretary Francis Torkornoo said each one-kilogramme slab was worth £5,000 on the United Kingdom street market, putting the haul at £29.2 million, and that the search for Bright and the exporters continued.[1][2]
Photos and video
Slabs of suspected cannabis intercepted at Tema Port, photographed after seizurePhoto details
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.
