Too Many Organisations At Kotoka Airport - 'Drugs' Boss

The Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, said the presence of multiple security agencies at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is not helping in the fight against narcotics. Mr. Sarpong said drug couriers are taking advantage of the situation because it is fueling a turf war at the only international airport of the country. �There are too many organizations there,� he said. �There is national security; there is NACOB, Airport Security among others� If you go to Venezuela and Colombia there is one narcotic police.� The NACOB boss pointed out that the security situation at the airport as it stands now has several loopholes that drug dealers could capitalise on. He said the fight against drug trafficking will be effective when the number of security agencies at KIA is reduced. Mr. Sarpong said: �If our key thing is narcotics and money laundering, then we need to zero in on those things. If you enter the airport at the moment, somebody can check-in and go out again and that is problematic. When he goes back again he can go back to the top. Are the scanning machines good enough?� He said Ghana and other African countries must take a cue from other countries such as Israel where rigid security measures have been put in place at the airports, making it difficult for couriers to escape the prying eyes of the law enforcement agencies. �I was on a study tour in Israel and before you check into the airline, the stringent things you go through before you even get there you�ll be arrested if you have drugs on you,� Mr. Sarpong noted. When asked whether the physical presence of Immigration officers, Airport Security, and national security operatives was not scaring away potential traffickers, the security boss queried: �Why should it be so? �We should have a joint team that is looking out for the same thing. So it will not be like Customs Service is competing with Airport Security,� he suggested,