Political protection could be masking Ghana’s cocaine trade – Global Organised Crime Index

The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index has raised concerns that an apparent decline in cocaine seizures and media coverage in Ghana may not necessarily reflect a reduction in trafficking activity.

According to the report, law enforcement officials and civil society stakeholders cited by the index believe that alleged political protection of illicit markets by sections of government could be contributing to the decline in visible cocaine trafficking.

“As cocaine seizures have declined and media coverage has decreased, law enforcement officials and civil society stakeholders suggest that political protection being given to illicit markets, particularly the cocaine trade, by sections of the government is the main reason for a drop in visible trafficking,” the report states.

The report does not present the allegation as an established finding by a court or law enforcement agency. Rather, it attributes the concern to officials and civil society stakeholders consulted for the assessment.

The index also identifies Ghanaian organised crime groups as significant participants in the international cocaine trade.

“Ghanaian organised crime groups have also emerged as big players in the global cocaine trade,” the report states.

The assessment places Ghana within a wider trafficking network linking cocaine-producing countries in South America with transit locations and West African ports.

On trafficking routes, the report identifies Brazil as the primary source country for cocaine entering Ghana by sea.

It says traffickers frequently conceal cocaine in commercial cargo, including sugar containers, before shipments are moved through intermediary locations such as Spain and Turkey.

“Brazil remains the primary source country for cocaine imported by sea, often concealed in sugar containers and transported through trans-shipment points such as Spain or Turkey before reaching Ghana’s ports at Tema, and to a lesser extent Takoradi,” the report states.

The index's 2025 Ghana profile gives the country's cocaine trade a score of 6.50, while rating state-embedded criminal actors at 7.50. These scores are part of the index's assessment framework and do not by themselves establish that specific state officials are involved in criminal activity.

The report also notes that Ghanaian authorities have carried out drug seizures and cooperated with international partners in efforts to disrupt organised criminal networks. At the same time, it identifies concerns about limited media coverage of the cocaine trade and allegations that journalists reporting on sensitive organised-crime issues have faced threats or intimidation.

The findings come amid renewed attention to Ghana’s role in international drug trafficking following a number of recent cocaine and other drug seizures linked to the country.

The report's assessment highlights the challenges facing Ghana and other West African states as international trafficking networks adapt their routes, concealment methods and operations.