GHANA: British High Commission reacts to arrest of two British teenagers for drugs in Ghana

The British High Commission in Accra is liaising with the two British teenagers arrested at Accra airport allegedly carrying 300,000 pounds worth of cocaine in laptop bags, who could face 10 years in prison if formally charged. Two British teenage girls face possible jail sentences in Ghana after they were arrested at Accra airport allegedly carrying 300,000 pounds (609,500 USD) worth of cocaine in laptop bags, officials said on Thursday (July 12). The two 16-year-olds, whose names were not immediately released, were detained by Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board officers. "The two British minors were arrested on the evening of the 2nd of July while trying to pass through Kotoka International Airport and they were arrested on suspicion of smuggling narcotics," said the British High Commission's Head of Press and Public Affairs, Gary Nichols, adding the embassy was informed the following day. The girls were expected to be formally charged by a Ghanaian juvenile court. For charges of possessing narcotic drugs and attempting to export drugs in Ghana, the minimum sentence is of 10 years imprisonment, confirmed a member of the Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board. "We are not able to go into specifics about the case," Nichols said, "but our role really is to liaise with the minors to make sure they understand what is happening to them. So we will keep in regular contact with them as court appearances come up, we will make sure the lawyers keep them informed as to what is happening and we will continue to make sure that their welfare and needs are being looked after." The arresting officers were part of Operation Westbridge, a project set up by Britain and Ghana to tackle drug smugglers using Accra airport as a gateway to Britain and the European mainland. Since the beginning of operations, the project contributed to the arrest of 44 people trying to smuggle drugs in or out of Ghana. United Nations, U.S. and European drugs experts have recently sounded the alarm over what they say is the increasing use of West Africa as a transhipment route by Latin American cocaine cartels supplying markets in Europe and elsewhere. "We have over the last several years been working with the Ghanaian authorities to combat the flow of narcotics into Ghana; but what we have seen in particular over the last 2 years is a growing flow of narcotics, particularly cocaine, into Ghana from South America, destined for Europe," Nichols said. After recent big seizures in Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has been trying to improve coordination with West African police forces to try to close down these drug smuggling channels. Experts say West Africa's often inaccessible and unsupervised coastline, ranging from deserted Saharan beaches in the north to mangrove creeks and river deltas further south, allows drug-traffickers to set up clandestine airstrips, embarkation points and storage depots. This, combined with weak and often corrupt local police forces, has made West Africa vulnerable to international traffickers, although U.S. and European anti-narcotics agencies are moving to fight back with assistance to local authorities.

ITN Source | July 13, 2007

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