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Claim: A viral Facebook post asserts that Ghana ranks “Number 1 as the leading source of cocaine from West Africa; Number 1 in Africa, and Number 5 in the whole World, behind only Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.”
Verdict: FALSE. Records show that Ghana is not a cocaine-producing country. It is a documented transit and warehousing hub for cocaine moving from South America to Europe. No UNODC World Drug Report, U.S. State Department report, or ENACT Organised Crime Index ranking places Ghana as the No. 1 cocaine source in West Africa or Africa.
Full text
Ghana’s role in the cocaine trade has drawn heavy scrutiny in recent months. On Aug. 5, 2026, Tema police seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine hidden in gari sacks at a warehouse in the Tema Harbour enclave. French customs then seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at Dunkirk on Sept. 10, 2026, in a container of plastic waste that had come from Ghana. This prompted President Mahama to meet with security chiefs and direct an inter-agency task force to tackle drug trafficking at the ports.
The Minority in Parliament has since demanded a parliamentary probe into Ghana’s alleged role as a narcotics transit hub.
Against this backdrop, a graphic claim circulating on Facebook and in political discourse asserts that Ghana ranks “Number 1 as the leading source of cocaine from West Africa, Number 1 in Africa, and Number 5 in the whole World, behind only Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.
These Facebook pages, Manuel A-y and Dr Bawumia for President 2028, shared the claim. The posts generated over 200 reactions.
If left uncorrected, this claim could give the impression that the country is a drug-producing narco-state on the same scale as Colombia or Peru, when it is in fact a transit and warehousing point exploited by foreign criminal networks. Hence, DUBAWA fact-checked it.
Verfiication
DUBAWA examined this claim against authoritative international data, official statements, and documented trafficking patterns. The claim fails on multiple counts.
The claim conflates production with transit.
Colombia is the world’s dominant cocaine producer. According to an analysis by The Economist, known for its global reach, analytical depth, and data-driven reporting, published in August 2026, Colombia accounts for approximately 70% of the cocaine sold globally, with the illegal business valued at around US$15 billion annually. The same report noted that cocaine has surpassed petroleum as one of Colombia’s primary exports.
Screenshot of analysis by data-driven report by The Economist
Peru and Bolivia are the other principal cocaine-producing nations. Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ecuador—the countries listed alongside Ghana in the claim—are primarily transit and logistics hubs through which cocaine moves from Andean production zones to European and other markets. They are not “sources” of cocaine in the production sense.
In addition, a JOYNEWS report citing Belgian customs figures showed that, although Ghana was the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at Antwerp in 2025, none of the cocaine was grown in Ghana. This may have been the source of the claim.
Ghana is a transit country, according to a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC). The report categorises West Africa as a “warehousing, redistribution and containerization point” in international cocaine trafficking routes, not a production region. The report identifies geography, governance gaps, and expanding transport infrastructure as key factors driving West Africa’s role as a trans-shipment node.
What the Evidence Actually Shows About Ghana
Ghana’s role in the cocaine trade is well-documented, but it is that of a transit and consolidation point, not a source.
The GI-TOC report notes that “by far the largest proportion of cocaine is trafficked through the region on maritime routes,” with transnational organised crime groups coordinating bulk flows through West Africa. State-embedded actors, foreign criminal actors, and regional intermediaries form a “triangle of players” facilitating these movements.
Recent seizures underscore this transit role. A compilation documented twelve major narcotics cases linked to Ghana between March 2025 and September 2026, with a cumulative estimated value exceeding US$1 billion.
A graph showing each of the events was a transit point
Source: DUBAWA
In each case, the cocaine originated from South American production zones. Ghana functioned as a consolidation and export point.
The ENACT Organised Crime Index Data
The ENACT Organised Crime Index, which measures criminal markets including cocaine trade, does not support the claim’s rankings.
In the 2025 ENACT data, Ghana scored 6.50 on the cocaine trade subscale (on a scale of 1–10, where higher indicates greater criminal market activity), ranking 6th out of 15 West African countries and 21st out of 54 African countries. While this indicates a significant cocaine trade presence, it directly contradicts the claim that Ghana ranks Number 1 in West Africa or Number 1 in Africa.
2025 ENACT Organised Crime Index Data showing Ghana’s position
The Claim’s Political Origins
The claim appears to derive from political rhetoric rather than empirical data.
In September 2026, opposition MP John Ntim Fordjour described Ghana as becoming a “COCAINE COAST” under government complicity, citing over $1 billion in drug seizures linked to Ghana since 2025. The Minority in Parliament called for an emergency sitting to discuss the seizures. It demanded that the executive publish “full and verifiable data on every narcotic seizure, arrest, and prosecution since January 2025.”
However, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin later clarified that his description of Ghana as a “hub” was “a metaphor,” not a literal ranking.
“It is not a matter of evidence. The statement was what I will call metaphorical; it was a metaphor,” Afenyo-Markin said on Adom TV.
Conclusion
The claim that Ghana ranks No. 1 in West Africa, No. 1 in Africa, and No. 5 globally as a cocaine source is false. The specific rankings cited do not appear in any authoritative international database, and the claim conflates production with transit while misrepresenting the roles of the countries listed.
