EU helps Ghana, Sierra Leone fight narcotics trafficking at sea

On 19 September 2022, the EU Delegation joined the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) of Ghana in welcoming delegates from Ghana and Sierra Leone for a training on the fight against maritime crime. 

The meeting was organised in the context of the dramatic increase in clandestine trafficking activities globally during the past 15 years, including the illicit trade in narcotics. West Africa has faced a growing influx of drugs arriving from Latin America through the region's ports and airports. Large amounts of these drugs are destined for European markets. This trade largely takes place via maritime routes, making use of commercial shipping, fishing vessels and pleasure yachts. 

In response, the EU is increasing its cooperation with partner countries in Latin America and West Africa, including Ghana and Sierra Leone.  The role of national maritime law enforcement agencies is essential to identify and trace illicit goods and drugs.  This is exactly the objective of the EU-funded ‘SEACOP’ project, which organised the regional training in Accra: to strengthen the response to narcotics trafficking by maritime law enforcement agencies in Latin America and West Africa.    

Anna Lixi, the Head of the Governance and Security at the EU Delegation to Ghana, thanked the SEACOP project for bringing together maritime intelligence and law enforcement actors from Ghana and Sierra Leone to discuss current challenges. “The fight against international drugs cartels can only be won if we join forces and build relevant capacities,” she said. 

More information about the SEACOP project and the EU’s Global Illicit Flows Programme (GIFP) can be found at: https://illicitflows.eu/projects/seacop/