<<Print>>

Nothing has come out of the missing cocaine debacle at the Nayak Warehouse in Tema, but we are not surprised. After our first commentary on the issue, we promised returning to it if no response was forthcoming from the relevant authorities. Not that we expected that the relevant authorities would speak to the matter anyway; we were wrong to write off the suspicion that influential persons at both the corridors of power and national security were not oblivious to the turn of events. From all indications, we and our compatriots across the country will not hear anything about the missing drug because silence on the part of national security minders is part of the strategy to manage what by all standards is a special assignment. Even those within the premises of the warehouse were warned not to entertain any enquiries from prying journalists who came seeking information about how the narcotic parcels were transferred from the warehouse to another location in Accra. We are dismayed that it is now possible for such drugs to be landed in the country provided those behind it know which button to push. There is no alternative explanation as to how a consignment of what by all standards was cocaine could vanish from a warehouse after it was secured by a National Security Secretariat padlock and other security agencies. When we pay lip-service to such serious subjects as drug law enforcement by compromising our positions we are not only being hypocritical but would eventually incur the wrath of God. We have witnessed previous drug busts and the accompanying publicity that they attracted. Not this, however, because some influential persons seek to conceal the deal with a view to collecting the promised mouth-watering handshake. How do we fight the drug war effectively when the approach is selective and underpinned by deals with influential persons? Drug pushers are busted only when they do not play ball. This is the impression that the Tema missing cocaine issue evokes and we find it embarrassing for the country, considering the worldwide web-propelled coverage it received. It is unfair when some drug pushers are in jail for peddling in the banned substance while others brazenly engage in the killer business and get away with it because of their connections. Little wonder drug dependent persons never run short of supplies inasmuch as they have money to satisfy their crave in a country awash with willing security agents with political links. It is clear that the security details, especially the national security team at the Tema Port, have no interest in following up this case. Our conclusion and those of others are clear and unwavering against the backdrop of the deliberate silence on the part of those who should have responded to our question regarding the destination of the cocaine after it was lodged at the Nayak Warehouse. We can only smile sarcastically when we are told about a drug bust at any of our ports. God save this country.