European Union supports Ghana in the fight against transnational organized crime

The EU is actively supporting Ghana to strengthen security at its land borders, including against possible terrorist activities.  Together with the Ministry of National Security, the EU  organised a workshop on the role of civil society organisations in Ghana’s border security management. The event was organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative and International Centre for Migration Development, two organisations supported by the EU’s Strengthening Border Security (SBS) project. As part of its CT Public Spaces project, EU also provided security equipment directly to Ghanaian law enforcement agencies to help further strengthen their responses to security threats, in particular at Ghana’s northern borders.

Meanwhile, EU also helped strengthen Ghana’s capacity to respond to cyber-crimes. Digital investigation laboratory equipment was handed to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service, in the framework of the EU-funded West African Response on Cybersecurity and the fight against Cybercrime (OCWAR-C) project. As one of the beneficiary countries of the project, Ghana has remarkably improved its cybersecurity mechanisms both in institutional and legal aspects since the project started in 2019.

In parallel, the EU is increasing cooperation with Ghana in the fight against transnational organised crime. For the past 15 years, West Africa has experienced a significant increase in the illicit trafficking of narcotics, with a growing amount of drugs arriving from Latin America transiting through the region's ports and airports, destined for European markets. In response, the EU is supporting training activities for Ghanaian stakeholders who are essential to help identify and trace illicit drugs and goods transported through Ghanaian ports and airports – and West Africa more generally. 

Subsequently, the EU-funded COLIBRI project organised a workshop to strengthen the anti-trafficking capacity of customs and law enforcement agencies, including the NACOC, Ghana Police, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and seven officers from the Gambia. GRA Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Baffour Yaw Asare, NACOC Head of Enforcement and Control, Solomon Stanley and officials of the Ghana Police Service and Air Force attended. The training counted on experts from the Spanish Guardia Civil and Civil Aviation and the World Customs Organisation. Anna Lixi, Head of Governance and Security at the EU Delegation to Ghana, reminded the participants that “the fight against international drug cartels can only be won if we join forces and build relevant capacities”. 

The EU is also supporting Ghana to strengthen maritime security more broadly, specifically ensuring secure port infrastructure and up-to-date knowledge on maritime crime. The EU-funded Improving port security in West and Central Africa (WeCAPS) project held a training for harbour and maritime authority representatives on the prevention of port incidents, which consequences can be disastrous and severely affect communities surrounding areas. 

The EU attended a national workshop on a research study on maritime criminality, conducted by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) as part of the  EU-funded Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (SWAIMS) project. The workshop provided new insights into money laundering, terrorist financing and illicit financial flows linked to maritime crimes in Ghana and the Gulf of Guinea. Ghana Intelligence Financial Centre, Ghana Police and GRA were among the participants.