The Minister of Transport, Mr. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has explained that some staff members of the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), who were implicated in a cocaine smuggling scandal at Kotoka International Airport (KIA), have been reinstated following an investigation.
Mr. Asiamah made this statement during an appearance before Parliament’s Assurance Committee, where he addressed assurances and issues related to his ministry.
In March 2023, it was alleged that a GACL staff member had smuggled 8.5 kilograms of a substance suspected to be cocaine through KIA, which was later intercepted at Brussels Airport by Belgian authorities.
The Transport Minister stated that Ghana’s airport security collaborates with international partners to combat drug smuggling.
He noted that a committee had been set up to investigate the involvement of GACL staff in the case. The committee’s findings concluded that the implicated staff were not culpable, leading to their reinstatement.
“We have strong international security collaborations at our airports, and in some instances, we allow suspects to move through one airport for interception at another,” the minister explained. He also emphasized that KIA maintains one of the highest standards of security globally.
Mr. Asiamah further assured the Committee that the investigation had been conducted according to international best practices, and no one was punished because no wrongdoing was found.
The Chairman of the Assurance Committee, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, expressed concerns over GACL’s failure to inform the public about the outcome of the investigation, urging transparency in communicating steps taken to ensure public safety.
The incident was initially reported by *The Herald* newspaper in April 2024, detailing how the cocaine had been smuggled through KIA on a Royal Air Maroc flight, allegedly facilitated by a GACL staff member.
