The flow of cocaine, synthetic drugs, and criminal proceeds between West Africa and Europe is drawing closer cooperation between Ghana and the Netherlands, with the two countries seeking to disrupt the networks operating behind the illicit trade.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Dutch Minister for Justice and Security David Van Weel signed a Letter of Intent during the Dutch minister’s official visit to Ghana, building on the Accra Call to Action adopted by Ghana, the Netherlands, and other stakeholders in November 2025.
The agreement comes as Ghana seeks to strengthen intelligence-led monitoring of its borders and ports. Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak said in July that the government was moving towards intelligence-led border surveillance, and that the Netherlands had provided funding for Ghana to acquire high-resolution scanners to detect narcotics and ammunition.
Ghana’s enforcement agencies destroyed more than 16.8 tonnes of narcotic substances in June 2025, including cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and synthetic drugs. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) also said in April 2026 that drug-related arrests had risen by 197 percent in 2025, with nearly 1,500 kilograms of narcotic substances seized.
The Netherlands faces a similar challenge through its major logistics infrastructure. Dutch customs intercepted 24,500 kilograms of cocaine in 2025, down from 38,000 kilograms in 2024. Rotterdam alone accounted for about 11,500 kilograms.
The scale of the trade makes the financial dimension particularly important. The Accra Call to Action specifically calls for stronger efforts to disrupt the financial foundations of drug trafficking, including improved asset tracing, freezing, and recovery mechanisms. It also calls for stronger information sharing and cooperation between states.
That focus is relevant to Ghana’s wider efforts to combat illicit financial flows. Drug proceeds can be channelled through legitimate businesses and financial transactions, creating compliance and reputational risks for banks, logistics companies, importers, exporters, and other firms exposed to cross-border trade.
The Ghana-Netherlands discussions therefore extend beyond conventional law enforcement. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the two countries share concerns over organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering and illicit financial flows, and are considering a more permanent framework for bilateral cooperation.
Ablakwa said the cooperation should help address drug markets that are “destroying young lives, undermining public health, damaging the rule of law and terribly affecting human rights.”
The agreement now puts greater emphasis on turning international cooperation into coordinated action against the networks behind West Africa’s drug trade. For Ghana and the Netherlands, that will mean stronger intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and efforts to trace the money supporting trafficking operations.
