The government has traced 73 assets suspected to be linked to illicit drug trafficking as part of efforts to dismantle the financial networks behind the illegal trade.

Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed this during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 24.

He said the government’s anti-drug campaign was targeting not only users but also traffickers and assets suspected to have been acquired with proceeds from the illicit trade.

“Our campaign is not just [targeted] at the users, but those who are bringing it,” he said.

Mr Mohammed-Mubarak said the government was using intelligence-led operations to identify and freeze assets linked to suspected drug traffickers while prosecutions were ongoing.

“We’ll go down, using intelligence-led, to make sure that when we get them, we seize their assets or we taint their assets, freezing them while the prosecution is going on,” he stated.

He said about 73 “tainted assets” had been traced during the period from January 2025 to July 2026.

The Minister also disclosed that about 19 kilogrammes of gold had been seized in suspected drug-related money laundering cases.

Security agencies, he added, had restrained approximately GH¢6.9 million and US$440,000 in cash allegedly linked to individuals involved in the illicit drug trade.

The asset tracing and seizures form part of the government’s broader strategy to weaken the financial foundations of drug-trafficking networks and prevent suspected offenders from benefiting from the proceeds of crime.

Over 8,500kg of narcotics seized

Mr Mohammed-Mubarak said more than 8,500 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs and about 45.4 million tramadol tablets were seized between January 2025 and July 2026.

During the same period, 217 arrests were made, while 165 prosecutions were initiated against suspected offenders.

He commended the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies for their intelligence-led operations against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.