More arrests will be made in connection with the €225m France cocaine bust – NACOC

The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) in Ghana anticipates additional arrests in connection with a recent €225 million cocaine bust linked to Ghana. Acting Director of Public Affairs, Francis Opoku Amoah, stated this on TV3's The KeyPoints on Saturday. Three individuals are currently in custody, but NACOC believes they are just a fraction of a larger network.

The Commission is collaborating with domestic and international partners to dismantle all drug trafficking operations, ensuring Ghana does not serve as a haven or transit point for international drug cartels.

On September 7, French Customs seized a container of plastic waste at the Port of Dunkirk, which contained 167 bales of cocaine weighing 3.9 metric tonnes, valued at approximately €225 million. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf and Belgian publication HLN linked the shipment to fugitive Dutch drug lord Jos Leijdekkers, known as "Bolle Jos," who is wanted in absentia in the Netherlands for trafficking nearly seven tonnes of cocaine. Leijdekkers is believed to be hiding in Sierra Leone.

NACOC announced on September 14 the arrest of three suspects in Ghana who allegedly represented and facilitated Leijdekkers' network in the country. These individuals had been under surveillance for some time. In the Netherlands, a man from Dordrecht, the intended business address for the shipment, was arrested on September 4 and is currently in custody.

Intelligence suggests that Leijdekkers himself has not entered Ghana, but his associates are believed to be operating from the country. NACOC asserts that investigations are ongoing, and more accomplices will face justice.