Ghana is facing renewed scrutiny over its role in international cocaine trafficking after nearly 3.9 tonnes of the drug were seized in France from a shipment that arrived from the country on 7 September, 2026.
The cocaine, valued at about $261m, was concealed in a container carrying plastic waste and intercepted at the port of Dunkirk in northern France.
The container was partly destined for Antwerp in Belgium, one of Europe’s major ports and a key entry point for international drug trafficking.
French authorities have launched an investigation into a suspected organised criminal network believed to be behind the shipment. The cocaine has since been destroyed.
The seizure has drawn renewed attention to Ghana’s position on commercial routes connecting West Africa with Europe, which can be exploited by criminal networks moving cocaine in legitimate cargo.
The development comes against the backdrop of major drug seizures elsewhere in the region.
In Liberia, nearly four tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated $317m were seized in July in one of the country’s biggest drug busts. A separate 237.6kg shipment intercepted at Roberts International Airport had been traced to Sierra Leone and was destined for the United Kingdom.
Sierra Leone has also faced scrutiny over international cocaine trafficking, including the presence of Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, described by European authorities as a major figure in the cocaine trade and linked to activity in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The Liberia and Sierra Leone cases are not known to be connected to the Ghana shipment. But the separate seizures point to a wider regional challenge as West Africa is increasingly used as a transit route for cocaine moving towards European markets.
For Ghana, the French seizure puts renewed focus on the country’s ports, commercial connections and border controls, and on the ability of international criminal networks to exploit legitimate trade.
It also comes as West African countries confront growing domestic drug problems. Sierra Leone and Liberia, in particular, have been battling the rapid spread of kush, a highly addictive synthetic drug that has become a major public-health and security concern.
The latest seizure therefore goes beyond the cocaine found in a single container at a French port. It underscores the growing pressure on West African governments to strengthen controls at ports and borders, disrupt transnational trafficking networks and prevent the region from becoming an increasingly important corridor for cocaine destined for Europe.
