The Minister of the Interior, , has disclosed that the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) is currently relying on sniffer dogs at the Kotoka International Airport and other key ports across the country to detect narcotic substances due to the breakdown of narcotic detection scanners.
Responding to questions on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, July 10, the minister explained that while the use of scanners would have been ideal, delays in procurement processes have made it necessary to deploy sniffer dogs in the interim. "So, yes, I know that having the scanner would have been an excellent one, but because of this challenge, and having to go through the procurement process, which is delaying, we are currently using sniffer dogs to enhance the tracking and search for possible drugs at the airports," he explained.
According to him, the government is committed to acquiring new scanners to bolster the country's fight against drug trafficking. "As soon as funds are available, we will make sure that we procure narcotic detection scanners because it is so important not just for narcotic cases, but for all other cases like people smuggling gold and other items," he stated.
The minister's comments came in response to concerns raised by the Member of Parliament for Assin South, John Ntim Fordjour, who expressed worry over the potential of Ghana's ports becoming transit points for narcotics due to the broken-down scanners.
