Aircraft with drugs: Jinapor writes to Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon

Damongo lawmaker Samuel Abu Jinapor has formally written to the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, and Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon to Ghana, H.E. Maher Kheir, to intervene in the ongoing Gran Canaria flights scandal.

He wants the foreign diplomat to use diplomatic channels to collaborate with the Ghanaian security and intelligence community to unravel the puzzle, conundrum and controversy surrounding the matter.

This follows the Minority Caucus’ Press Conference on 1st April, 2025 on some critical security issues in the country, including the controversial landing of AirMed and Cavok Air flights allegedly carrying suspected illicit goods and money.

Following the Press Conference, the President of the Republic, rightly, directed the state investigative agencies to investigate the matter. Indeed, several well-meaning, patriotic and concerned Ghanaians, security experts, and the international community, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have called for thorough investigations into the matter.

It is recalled that speaking at a press briefing, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, highlighted the urgent need to preserve Ghana’s reputation as one of the most peaceful countries in Africa.

Rev. Fordjour stated, “Ghana in the past eight years, had been ranked favourably by notable global organisations as the second most peaceful country in Africa in respect of crime rate and globally, ahead of Australia and Canada.

Read Also: $88.6 billion lost annually in Africa in illicit financial flows – African Union

“It is therefore imperative that under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana continues to be safe and not degenerate into a safe haven for pirates, drug trafficking and money laundering.”

In a statement on Tuesday, April 8, Mr Abu Jinapor who is a former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said that “Ghana is party to several international treaties and conventions which impose an obligation on us to fight transnational organised crimes such as illicit drug trade and money laundering.

“These include the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (as amended by the 1972 Protocol), the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 (the Vienna Convention), and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000.”

Below is his full statement…

Today, Tuesday, 8th April, 2025, in my capacity as the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, I, formally wrote, for and on behalf of the Minority Caucus on the Committee, to the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, and Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon to Ghana, H.E. Maher Kheir, to intervene in the ongoing Gran Canaria flights scandal, by using diplomatic channels to collaborate with the Ghanaian security and intelligence community to unravel the puzzle, conundrum and controversy surrounding the matter.

This follows the Minority Caucus’ Press Conference on 1st April, 2025 on some critical security issues in the country, including the controversial landing of AirMed and Cavok Air flights allegedly carrying suspected illicit goods and money. Following the Press Conference, the President of the Republic, rightly, directed the state investigative agencies to investigate the matter. Indeed, several well-meaning, patriotic and concerned Ghanaians, security experts, and the international community, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have called for thorough investigations into the matter.

Unfortunately, even before these investigations could commence, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, attempted to make a U-turn by dismissing the allegations, calling the investigations “a waste of time,” and insinuating that the President did not mean it when he called for investigations into the matter.

Today, independent checks have confirmed the Minority’s claims that the two AirMed flights, flew to KIA straight from Gran Canaria, contrary to the Minister’s claim that the flight came from Luanda. Questions have, also, been raised about the activity history of the Cavok flights that the Minister referenced, as searches have not shown that these flights flew into the country on the said dates. These and many more questions call for thorough investigations to unravel the mystery behind the movement of these flights.

Ghana is party to several international treaties and conventions which impose an obligation on us to fight transnational organised crimes such as illicit drug trade and money laundering. These include the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (as amended by the 1972 Protocol), the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971, the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988 (the Vienna Convention), and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000.

In the past few years, we have adopted legislative, regulatory and administrative measures necessary to curb illicit traffic of drugs and money laundering, including the enactment of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019), which elevated the erstwhile Narcotics Control Board to a Commission, and empowered it to prevent illicit trade in drugs, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), which consolidated laws relating to the prohibition of money laundering and re-established the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) with enhanced powers to deal with money laundering.

Transnational organised crime, particularly, involving illicit traffic in drugs and money-laundering, have serious effects, not only on our country, but on global security and peace. It is, therefore, important to continue to work with the international community to ensure the implementation of these laws to prevent Ghana from becoming a transit point for the movement of illicit drugs and proceeds therefrom. Such a situation could have serious political, economic and diplomatic implications for our country, and an already troubled region.

Without a doubt, we cannot be successful in combating these transnational crimes if we fail to investigate allegations such as this; for it is only through investigations that we can establish the veracity or otherwise of such allegations, and where appropriate, prosecute offenders to serve as deterrent to others. It is, also, through such investigations that we can gather credible intelligence to prevent these crimes.

I, therefore, called on the Diplomatic Community in Ghana, to intervene by way of the following:

1.share with the Ghanaian security authorities any intelligence they may have on the aircrafts and flights concerned;

2.facilitate the deployment of the security apparatus of their respective countries to collaborate with the Ghanaian security authorities in any future investigations;

3.assist the Ghanaian State, through her arms of Government, generally, and Parliament in particular, to avoid the undesirable, unenvious and dangerous reputation of a drug State;

4.encourage, through diplomatic channels, the Ghanaian Government to establish, pursuant to article 278 of Ghana’s Constitution, a Commission of Inquiry to make a full, faithful and impartial inquiry into the matter of the flights allegedly carrying illicit drugs and money; and

5.take keen interest in the protection of the independence of Ghana’s Parliament in the exercise of its oversight responsibility, and most especially, the safety and protection of the whistleblower, the Hon. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South, and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, as well as other Members of Parliament, in the sacred discharge of their duties as Members of Parliament.

Ghana, as a respected member of the international community, must continue to act above board, and collaborate with the rest of the world to combat transnational organised crimes, particularly, trafficking of illicit drugs and money laundering. Action in this matter is urgent and consequential for national and international security.

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