INL FUNDING BOOSTS GHANA'S COUNTER-NARCOTICS

UNCLAS ACCRA 002282 SIPDIS INL PASS TO ERENI ROESS, DOJ/ICITAP FOR ERIC BEINHART, LAGOS FOR CLAYTON WHEELER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SNAR GH SUBJECT: INL FUNDING BOOSTS GHANA'S COUNTER-NARCOTICS CAPACITY REF: ACCRA 02138 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. Using INL funding totalling nearly $80,000, DOJ/ICITAP contractors conducted a four-week counter-narcotics training in Accra for officers from the Ghana Narcotics Control Board (NCB),Ghana Police Service (GPS),Ghana Immigration Service (GIS),the Customs and Excise Protective Service (CEPS),and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The train-the-trainer program, conducted in two 2-week sessions, finished on November 12 and was declared a highly successful training by both USG and GoG officials. The launch of the training on October 18, attended by the DCM, received extensive press coverage. While the training was in progress, a high-profile narcotics case was prosecuted (see reftel) and another drug bust was made at the airport with the assistance of INL-funded equipment. End summary. -------------- - COMBATTING DRUG SMUGGLING AT PORTS AND BORDERS -------------- - ¶2. On October 18, the DCM launched a four-week, INL-funded counter-narcotics training, led by DOJ/ICITAP contractors Larry Ringler and Robert Clarke. The Chief Director from the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Edwin Barnes, also addressed the trainees and press members covering the launch. Later, in a private (closed to press) classroom address to the officers, the Chief Director urged the officers to work together to combat the problem of narcotics in Ghana and to set aside occasional inter-agency differences that may arise. He stressed the need for the Ghanaian law enforcement agencies not to let divisions over funding and resources encroach on the overall goal of eliminating the smuggling of illicit narcotics in and through Ghana. ¶3. The training took place in two 2-week sessions. The first session, consisting of mid- to senior-level officers of the NCB, CEPS, GIS, CEPS and GCAA was a 'train-the-trainers' program in which participants were taught how to transfer skills and knowledge to junior officers of their respective agencies. The second phase of the training, conducted from November 1-12, was a basic skills course and consisted of junior level officers. Students from the first iteration of the program co-taught the basic skills training with the two ICITAP coordinators. Both trainings consisted of classroom lectures, practical exercises, and field visits to the airport. ¶4. This training, which focused specifically on drug interdiction at Ghana's airport (and, secondarily, seaports), complements material assistance provided last year under the same contract. In 2003, the USG donated two itemizers worth $80,000 to the NCB to be used for drug detection efforts at Kotoka International Airport. In October 2004, the Executive Secretary of the NCB, Col. Isaac Akuoko, told PolOff that the SIPDIS itemizers had helped to capture another potential drug smuggler transiting through the airport. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. The ICITAP trainers, the NCB (which served as the lead GoG agency for coordinating the training),and the training participants all regarded this program as highly successful. In an outbrief with Ambassador Yates, Mr. Ringler and Mr. Clarke advocated further support for Ghana's law enforcement agencies, noting that the political will for combatting narcotics in Ghana is strong and that law enforcement officers display enthusiasm and motivation for this mission in spite of a fundamental lack of human and material resources. The trainers also noted that the Ghanaians expressed interest in a canine drug detection course. Further courses in basic skills training, airport operations, and drug interdiction could also be useful in Ghana. The prosecution of Ghana's largest drug bust and the October interception of narcotics using USG-funded equipment, both of which took place during the period of this successful training, indicate the continued positive impact of INL funding in Ghana. End comment. YATES