The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested three suspects in Ghana over their alleged involvement in activities linked to Dutch fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, popularly known as “Bolle Jos”, following the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine worth about US$260 million in France.
NACOC stated that the three suspects allegedly represented and facilitated the activities of Leijdekkers in Ghana and are currently in custody assisting investigators to establish their roles in the suspected international trafficking network.
The arrests follow the seizure by French customs officers of 167 packages containing nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk on September 7, 2026. The cocaine was concealed in plastic waste inside a container originating from Ghana and was initially destined, at least in part, for the Belgian port of Antwerp. French authorities valued the shipment at about €225 million.
France’s National Anti-Organised Crime Prosecutor’s Office (PNACO) said the cocaine had been destroyed and opened a criminal investigation into the importation, possession, transport and organised trafficking of narcotics, as well as participation in a criminal association.
The investigation has been handed to France’s anti-narcotics office, OFAST, to identify the actors behind the criminal network that allegedly organised the shipment. French authorities said the network had already been targeted by the national judicial police.
While NACOC has linked the three suspects arrested in Ghana to the activities of Leijdekkers, the French prosecutor’s official statement did not publicly identify the Dutch fugitive as being behind the seized shipment.
NACOC affirmed that the arrests form part of its efforts to prevent Ghana from becoming a safe haven, transit point or operational base for international drug-trafficking organisations. It added that it would continue working with domestic and international law-enforcement agencies to disrupt the people, finances and infrastructure sustaining the illicit drug trade.
“The arrests reaffirm NACOC’s resolve that Ghana will not be a safe haven, transit point or operational base for international drug-trafficking organisations. The Commission will continue working with domestic and international law-enforcement partners to disrupt the people, finances and infrastructure sustaining the illicit drug trade, while safeguarding the rights and legal protections of all persons under investigation.” the statement read.
The latest development comes amid growing concern over major drug consignments linked to Ghana and seizures made both locally and overseas. The Minority in Parliament has cited the French seizure as part of what it describes as a growing pattern of major narcotics trafficking linked to Ghana.
Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, claims high-profile drug seizures linked to Ghana under the NDC government now exceed US$1 billion in less than two years. He has called for a full-scale, independent parliamentary inquiry into the seizures and the handling of investigations by state institutions.
Among the cases cited by the Minority is the March 2025 interception of more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine concealed beneath sand in a tipper truck at Pedu Junction in Cape Coast, which it says was worth more than US$350 million.
The Minority has also cited the seizure of about 120 slabs of cocaine along the Takoradi-Cape Coast highway, the August 2026 seizure of 866 parcels of suspected cocaine concealed in sacks of gari at a warehouse in the Tema Harbour area, and the June 2026 seizure of 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine in Australia from a charcoal consignment traced to Ghana.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour argues that the scale of the seizures raises questions about the volume of narcotics potentially moving through Ghana undetected and has questioned the progress of investigations, particularly into the alleged financiers and principal traffickers behind some of the consignments.
He has also demanded explanations over the 2025 MV Sankofa incident, in which he alleges that a vessel later arrested in Senegal carrying narcotics had previously been released by Ghanaian authorities after paying a reduced fine and without a full inspection of its cargo.
The Minority is demanding relevant sector ministers and heads of security and regulatory agencies summoned before Parliament to account for the seizures, ongoing investigations and measures being taken to strengthen Ghana’s ports, airports and territorial waters.
The government, however, has pointed to ongoing enforcement efforts. NACOC recently reported that intelligence-led operations conducted with partner security agencies had resulted in 217 arrests and 165 prosecutions, with more than 8.5 tonnes of assorted narcotic drugs and 45.4 million tramadol tablets intercepted during the period under review.
The Commission has also called for stronger regional intelligence-sharing, coordinated investigations and joint operations, arguing that transnational drug-trafficking networks cannot be effectively dismantled through isolated national responses.
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