The country's efforts at redeeming its image as far as narcotic drugs cases are concerned, has led to a business boom among local peddlers and users. For now, there are indications that security is very tight at various exit points, making it difficult for the dealers to traffic drugs across the country's borders. The local peddlers are therefore happy about the situation as they claim they now have 'first grade' stuff for their customers. Under cover investigations by The Enquirer have revealed that a kilogramme of first class cocaine sells at $21,000 and is peddled by barons, who are known as "Efienipa". As at last year, the powder was selling for about $17,000 per kilogramme. These barons who deal in narcotic drugs locally have agents, who deal with peddlers for a commission of between $1,000 and $1,500 on every kilogramme sold. The paper gathered that prices of wrapped cocaine in smaller quantities have also shot up because the peddlers claim they are now supplying quality stuff to their customers. At Adabraka Sahara area, a well-known base for narcotic drugs peddling, The Enquirer gathered that a "Bullet" of cocaine, now goes for GH¢2.00. It formerly went for GH¢1.00. A peddler, who confided in the paper said market is now blissful and more people are getting hooked to drugs because of the quality. "Formerly, because the stuff was adulterated people hardly got hooked to cocaine and that was having effect on our sales, but now our customers crave for more stuff," he said. According to him, other peddlers from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Cote D'Ivoire are trooping into the country on constant basis because the local market is booming. He said the security agencies and for that matter the government has done well in protecting the exit points but the domestic drug business is now taking a new dimension. "The barons, who hitherto were using the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to export drugs, are now using local guys to front for them in the business," the drug peddler said. It was learnt that the shortage that hit a number of outlets as a result of measures to clamp down on drug barons after the MV Benjamin saga; in which 77 parcels of cocaine got missing, is no more. When the 77 parcels of cocaine got missing at Tema last two years, drug peddlers experienced shortage of the stuff because all the barons went into hiding. In other to satisfy the insatiable taste for drugs among users, some of the peddlers devised another form of 'cocaine', by combining aspirin and valium. The improvised cocaine, one peddler at Tema told The Enquirer, was not giving the users the usual "satisfaction" they get from using drugs and that made their daily sales to drop drastically. A Dutch national, who gave his name to the paper as Marco, told the paper that the cocaine on the streets of Ghana is the best in the West African sub-region. The 39-year-old sailor, who has been in the country for the past three years, said that he easily laid hands on the 'stuff' anytime he wanted to purchase some. Asked whether he was not afraid of going to various "ghettoes" for his supply, he said Ghana is a free country and that there is no cause for alarm. "The peddlers know their way out, and, for me, I don't go to ordinary places to procure the 'stuff, I am always with the high class peddlers in unsuspecting areas”, he said. Source: The Enquirer