Mahama Responds To Drug Smuggling Allegations From Ntim Fordjour, Orders Probe
- President John Mahama has directed a probe into drug smuggling claims from Assin South MP John Ntim Fordjour
- Mahama has instructed relevant security agencies to collaborate with the Assin South MP on the matter
- Fordjour had flagged alleged drug smuggling and money laundering activities involving two suspicious flights and called for action
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President John Mahama has directed a probe into claims from Assin South MP John Ntim Fordjour about drug smuggling and money laundering involving two suspicious flights at Kotoka International Airport.
Mahama assured that his government is committed to urgently addressing the claims.
Source: Twitter
The president announced that he has instructed relevant security agencies to collaborate with Fordjour and thoroughly examine the claims.
"Government takes all allegations seriously, and to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation, I have directed all relevant investigative agencies – including the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Police CID, the National Investigations Bureau (NIB), and the National Security Coordinator – to immediately and fully collaborate with the honourable member of parliament so he provides all necessary information to investigate the allegations and take all action necessary to expose any drug dealing."
Why did Fordjour make drug smuggling allegations?
The Minority in Parliament had called for accountability from the government regarding recent gold and cash seizures made by National Security.
The was also a drug seizure with a purported street value of $350 million.
The minority was concerned that the government had not updated the public on the cases.
In February, 12 containers filled with gold bars and an unspecified amount of cash in US dollars and Ghanaian cedis were seized by National Security.
Fordjour addressed the press conference in question and demanded more details.
“The public has a right to know how much was seized and the full scope of the operation... It is unacceptable that, after all this time, we still don’t know the exact quantity of gold or the specific amount of cash seized."
This was where he alleged that two flights suspected of being involved in illicit activities had landed at the Kotoka International Airport.
Source: Getty Images
He identified the flights in question as AirMed flight N823AM and Cavok Air’s Antonov An-12B, which allegedly landed at Kotoka International Airport from Gran Canaria, Spain, before departing on March 25, 2025.
According to him, the AirMed flight N823AM, an air ambulance, did not transport any patient.
Police seize gold bars at Kotoka Airport
YEN.com.gh reported that a van belonging to the Precious Minerals Marketing Company was intercepted by the Accra Regional Police at Kotoka International Airport in December 2024.
The van, reportedly en route to Dubai, was found to contain 17 boxes of gold bars allegedly part of the government’s Gold-for-Oil initiative.
The Precious Minerals Marketing Company accused the National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress of leading the seizure of the gold.
Launched in December 2022, the now-defunct Gold-for-Oil initiative was to bolster Ghana’s foreign currency reserves by exchanging gold purchased by the central bank for oil imports.
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Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Delali Adogla-Bessa (Head of Current Affairs and Politics Desk) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.
Samuel Gitonga (Copy editor) Samuel Gitonga is a Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh. He holds a Bachelor of Broadcast Journalism Degree from the Multimedia University of Kenya. He has over 7 years’ experience in the digital journalism industry. He started out his career at the Kenya News Agency and proceeded to work for several reputable media outlets in Nairobi.
