Ghana, UNODC sign agreement on drug trafficking and money laundering

Ghana has signed two agreements with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to build the operational and logistical capacity of the law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking and money laundering, Ghana News Agency reported on Sunday.

An agreement on the Global Container Control Program, a joint project between UNODC and the World Customs Organization (WCO), would aim at creating a port control team, consisting of the different law enforcement agencies to inspect containers arriving at Ghana's seaports.

The project, with a duration of two and half years, is expected to lead to significant seizures of narcotic drugs and illicit weapons, as scanners and relevant equipment to detect drugs and illicit weapons hidden in containers would be provided under the agreement.

It would also provide specialized skills training for the law enforcement agencies, as well as improved intelligence gathering and information sharing among the law enforcement agencies in Ghana and the international community.

The other agreement, in support of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing in West Africa, aims at supporting the anti-money laundering efforts in West Africa by enhancing specialized knowledge, legislative framework and operational capability at the sub-regional and national levels.

The Anti-Money Laundering Inter-Governmental Group of the ECOWAS Secretariat and the UNODC are jointly implementing the project. It would assist Ghana with the enactment of laws and create the necessary institutions to combat money laundering.

Interior Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah, who signed the first agreement, reaffirmed the government's will to fight the dangers associated with illicit trafficking in drugs and arms, expressing the hope that Ghana would attain the benefits of the project in order to make the country free from the menace.

The project would help to solve Ghana's seaport policing problems and would afford personnel adequate training in modern ways of detecting drugs at the ports, said the minister.

As part of the project, a special anti-drug unit would be set up to combat illicit drug trafficking at the ports, he added.

Kwame Osei-Prempeh, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General, who signed the agreement against money laundering, said Ghana was appending its signature to the agreement to make it an unattractive destination for money launderers, pledging the governments' commitment to combat the issue.

Currently, an anti-money laundering bill is before Parliament for consideration and the agreement is expected to provide the technical inputs to fine tune the document.

Antonio Mazzitelli, regional representative of the UNODC, who signed both agreements for the organization, commended the Ghananian government for the political will to sign the agreements and to commit itself to combat the problem.

Even though the agreements were not the panacea to the problem it was a step in the right direction, he said.

Source: Xinhua

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