By Edward Dankwah

Accra, June 18, GNA – Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka has urged the graduating officers of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) Cadet Course 8 to see the fight against drugs as a moral obligation to protect communities, families, and the future.

He said the fight is not merely a professional duty and raised an alarm over the rise in the number of young people becoming addicted to prescription drugs

“This is worrying,” the Minister said, and noted that the trend not only threatened individual lives, but the entire society.

“Ghana is not immune to the scourge of illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse, so as you step into your roles as Narcotics Control Officers, remember that the thrust of the nation rests upon your shoulders,” the Minister urged.

Alhaji Muntaka was speaking at the graduation parade and parchment ceremony for the NACOC Cadet Course 8, at the Leadership Training School, Eastern Naval Command at Tema, in Accra.

The occasion marked an important feat in Ghana’s collective efforts to combat the menace of illicit drugs and ensure the safety and well-being of citizenry.

The ceremony witnessed the graduation of 186 cadet officers: 72 females and 114 males who have successfully completed the mandatory Basic Narcotics Cadet Training Programme to augment the institution’s manpower capacity in combating the illicit drug menace confronting the Country.

The training, which lasted for six and half months has equipped the officer cadets with skills in areas such as pharmacology of drugs, financial investigations, profiling of passengers, document fraud, and intelligence cycle.

Mr. Muntaka said the government remained committed to providing the necessary support to NACOC to ensure that the Commission continued to produce well-trained cadets who would serve not only NACOC, but also other security agencies across the nation.

The Minister said the recent increase in the seizure of illicit narcotic drugs and the arrest of suspected drug traffickers was an indication of Ghana’s renewed fight against illicit drugs.

“…the increase in the arrest is an explicit manifestation of much more tighter measures put in place to make Ghana unattractive for illicit drugs trafficking syndicates,” he stressed.

He said drug trafficking networks had become more evasive and complex in recent times, exploiting borders, the youth, and other vulnerable areas but the government, in collaboration with NACOC, was committed to dismantling these networks and ensuring a safer environment for all citizens.

Mr. Muntaka said enforcement alone was not enough, and that it was vital to strengthen prevention programmes, enhance rehabilitation efforts, and strengthen international cooperation to tackle this menace at its roots.

He directed NACOC as a matter of urgency to operationalise the Substance Use Disorder Rehabilitation Fund as provided for in section 22 of the NACOC Act, 2020.

He said the fund would facilitate among others, research in the area of addiction disease and treatment of persons with substance use disorders, as well as setting up of rehabilitation centres for the treatment of persons with substance use disorders, as drug use was a public health issue.

The Minister donated to the fund a seed money and urged all and sundry, particularly corporate bodies to support the fund as part of their corporate social responsibilities in addressing the threats of substance abuse that was becoming a canker among the youth.

He called on the leadership of NACOC and other security agencies, for intense collaboration and intelligence-sharing in the common and shared responsibility in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse.

The award winners were Mr. Richard Kobetta, best in shooting, Mr. Lawrence Edem Mensah, best in physical training male and best in drill, and Madam Margaret Kudiabor, best in physical training female.

Madam Yamyolia Nahajat Ananga Wuntima was awarded as the best in academics and the overall best.

GNA

Edited by Benjamin Mensah