Ghana Police Arrest 74 in Upper East Anti-Drug and Violent Crime Operations

The Ghana Police Service says 74 suspects have been arrested in intelligence-led operations targeting narcotics trafficking and violent crime in Ghana’s Upper East Region as authorities intensify border security efforts amid growing concerns over organised crime networks operating across West Africa’s Sahel corridor.

BOLGATANGA, Ghana

Ghana Police Service says its Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Operations Team has arrested 74 suspects during two intelligence-led security operations targeting narcotics peddling, violent crime and related criminal activities in Ghana’s Upper East Region. The operations were conducted in Paga, near the Ghana–Burkina Faso border, and within identified criminal hotspots in Navrongo Municipality, according to an official police statement and court proceedings reviewed by Nukunya News Desk.

Police said the first operation took place on May 20 within the Ghana–Burkina Faso border buffer zone at Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District. The operation led to the arrest of 40 suspects comprising 28 men and 12 women. Authorities said the suspects included 23 Ghanaians, eight Nigerians, six Burkinabés, one Malian and one Togolese national. Officers also retrieved parcels and sacks of suspected narcotic substances together with five motorbikes believed to have been used for distribution activities.

A second intelligence-led operation conducted on May 22 targeted criminal hotspots in Navrongo Municipality, including the Condemned Road Corridor, “After Six” Spot and “Lighter Inn” Spot. That operation resulted in the arrest of 34 additional suspects, comprising 32 men and two women. Police also recovered 11 motorbikes, quantities of suspected narcotic substances and assorted foreign cigarettes.

Court proceedings and ongoing investigations

According to police, suspects arrested during the operations were arraigned before High Court Two in Navrongo on the same day, presided over by Justice Ernest Pascal Gemadzie. Sixteen suspects were remanded into police custody and are expected to reappear before the court on June 4, while the remaining suspects are being profiled for further action. Police said investigations remain ongoing and efforts continue to identify and arrest additional persons connected to criminal activities in the affected areas.

Rising concern over cross-border crime

The operation comes amid increasing regional concern over transnational trafficking routes and organised criminal networks operating across parts of West Africa and the Sahel. Northern Ghana shares strategic trade and migration corridors with neighbouring Burkina Faso, where insecurity linked to extremist violence and organised criminal activity has intensified in recent years, according to assessments by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Economic Community of West African States. Security analysts have repeatedly warned that porous border areas across the Sahel and West Africa remain vulnerable to:

• narcotics trafficking
• arms smuggling
• human trafficking
• fuel smuggling
• organised criminal networks

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has previously identified West Africa as an important transit corridor for international drug trafficking networks moving narcotics between Latin America, Europe and other global markets. Ghanaian authorities have, in recent years, increased intelligence-led policing and border surveillance operations in northern regions amid concerns that instability in neighbouring Sahel states could create opportunities for transnational criminal groups to expand their activities along regional trade routes. Although police did not disclose the exact type or quantity of narcotic substances seized during the latest operations, the crackdown reflects broader national efforts to disrupt criminal supply chains and strengthen security coordination in border communities.

Community safety concerns

Community leaders and residents in parts of northern Ghana have previously raised concerns about youth involvement in narcotics distribution, cross-border smuggling activities and the growing presence of criminal networks operating within informal trade corridors.

Security experts say sustained enforcement alone may not fully address the underlying drivers of organised crime, pointing to:

• unemployment
• poverty
• weak border infrastructure
• limited economic opportunities
• regional instability

Analysts also say stronger intelligence-sharing between West African states, improved border technology and coordinated anti-trafficking operations will be critical to limiting the expansion of organised criminal networks across the region.

Why this story matters

The arrests highlight Ghana’s increasing reliance on intelligence-led policing strategies rather than routine patrol-based enforcement operations.

The operation also reflects wider regional security concerns as governments across West Africa attempt to contain:

• organised narcotics trafficking
• violent crime
• cross-border criminal activity
• regional instability spillovers
• illicit trade networks

For Ghana, the Upper East Region remains strategically important because of its proximity to regional trade corridors linking the country to Burkina Faso and other Sahel states.

Security analysts say maintaining stability in northern border communities will remain central to Ghana’s broader national security and anti-trafficking strategy.

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