Ghana serves as a transit point for heroin originating mostly from Afghanistan and cocaine supplied primarily from Brazil, according to findings in the Global Organised Crime Index.

The report describes international trafficking networks that use Ghana’s ports and airports to move drugs, while also supplying a domestic market.

“Seizures of inbound and outbound heroin shipments have indicated that it tends to be imported by East African nationals, some is consumed domestically, before the majority is repackaged and exported to the US by Ghanaian nationals,” the report states.

It also alleges that corrupt officials help facilitate heroin trafficking through the country’s transport infrastructure.

“Corrupt officials are involved in facilitating the movement of heroin through Ghanaian seaports and airports,” it states.

According to the findings, heroin distribution and consumption, historically concentrated in Accra and Tema, are believed to have spread across Ghana, including rural communities in the northern regions.

The report identifies Ghanaian and Nigerian trafficking groups as influential in expanding the global heroin trade and illicit drug markets across West Africa.

On cocaine, it describes Ghanaian organised crime groups as significant participants in international trafficking networks.

“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 disclosed.

The findings also cite law enforcement officials and civil society stakeholders who allege that political protection of illicit markets by sections of government may explain declining cocaine seizures and reduced visibility of trafficking.