Police arrest 50 suspects in anti-narcotics operation at Madina Market

The Ghana Police Service has arrested 50 suspects during a large-scale anti-narcotics operation conducted at Madina Market in the Greater Accra Region.

The intelligence-led operation, carried out on Thursday, May 7, 2026, by the Inspector-General of Police Special Operations Team, targeted alleged drug trafficking and narcotics distribution activities within the busy commercial enclave.

Addressing the media at a press briefing on Friday, May 8, Director-General of Police Operations, Emmanuel Teye Cudjoe, disclosed that the suspects include 46 males and four females.

According to preliminary police investigations, 25 of the suspects are Ghanaian nationals, while the remaining suspects include 13 Nigerians, nine Nigeriens, one Malian, one Togolese, and one Burkinabe national.

Police identified two suspects — Abigail Oku, 26, and Mohammed Zaya, a Nigerian national — as alleged leaders of the drug network believed to be operating within the Madina Market area.

Two additional Nigerian nationals, Yousef Abubakar, 25, and Ahmadu Alfani, 43, were also identified as alleged shop owners involved in the sale and distribution of narcotic substances.

COP Cudjoe revealed that the operation led to the seizure of a large quantity of suspected narcotics and related items. Among the exhibits recovered were 230 boxes of tramadol with an estimated street value of GH¢130,000, 49 boxes of wrappers valued at GH¢26,000, and 10 parcels of suspected Indian hemp estimated at GH¢15,000.

Police also confiscated 13 boxes of other suspected narcotic substances, along with mobile phones, scissors, knives, and additional materials believed to be connected to drug-related activities.

“Items retrieved during the operation include 230 boxes of tramadol valued at 130,000 cedis, 49 boxes of wrappers valued at 26,000 cedis, 10 parcels of Indian herb valued at 15,000 cedis, 13 boxes of crashes, mobile phones, scissors, knives and other suspected narcotic-related materials. The estimated street value of the recovered exhibits amounts to GH¢200,000,” COP Cudjoe stated.

All 50 suspects, together with the seized items, have been transferred to the National Operations Directorate Headquarters to assist with ongoing investigations and possible prosecution.

The Ghana Police Service has reaffirmed its commitment to intensifying nationwide operations aimed at dismantling narcotics networks and combating the trafficking and distribution of illegal drugs across the country.