Six Suspects Arraigned Over $261m Cocaine Bust Linked To Tema Port, Remanded Pending Trial

Six individuals linked to the seizure of nearly 3.9 metric tonnes of cocaine, valued at an estimated $261 million, have been arraigned in court as investigations continue into how the shipment made its way out of Tema Port before being intercepted abroad.

The cocaine was discovered concealed inside a 40-foot container declared as plastic waste, part of a batch of four containers that left Tema Port before French customs officers intercepted the drugs at the port of Dunkirk.

According to investigators, part of the shipment was destined for Antwerp, Belgium, rather than its stated cargo, uncovered as part of an intelligence-led operation targeting an international organized crime network.

The six suspects, identified as Francis Narh Amanor, Frank Adu-Boahen, Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea, and Helena Akua Denkyi, appeared in court where they were denied bail and remanded into custody pending further investigation.

Four of the six have been linked to the Ghana Revenue Authority, with allegations centered on the customs scanning process at Tema Port that should have flagged the shipment before it left the country.

The case forms part of a wider probe by Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission, which has also seen four other suspects arraigned separately in connection with the same investigation.

French and Dutch authorities have reportedly connected the shipment to a criminal network tied to Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, a fugitive linked to large-scale cocaine trafficking operations across Europe.

The seized drugs have since been destroyed by French authorities, who have opened their own investigation into the network behind the shipment.

Watch the video HERE.