Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, the Minority Caucus in Parliament wishes to address you and our fellow citizens on critical security matters related to money laundering, drug trafficking, maritime safety and our airspace.
National Security’s Raid on 12 containers with Gold and Cash
On February 9, 2025, National Security conducted a major raid on a warehouse in Sapeiman, Ga South Municipality in Accra where they uncovered twelve 20-foot containers filled with gold bars and unspecified amount of cash in various denominations of US dollars and Ghana cedis worth over several billions of dollars.
This operation was widely carried by various media outlets in Ghana.
Nearly two months after this operation, National Security has failed to brief the public on the status of their investigations relating to the culprits behind the billions of gold and cash stashed in the twelve containers and failed to disclose the actual quantity of gold.
The specific amount of amount money retrieved during the operation and what the state intends to do with gold and cash currently in the custody of National Security.
The Minority Caucus, as responsible opposition as we are, in absolute circumspection, have been patient and given reasonably two clear months for National Security to communicate status of their investigation with the public albeit without any information from National Security.
The legitimate question Ghanaians are asking is: does the government through National Security intend to divert the twelve containers of gold and cash, only to turn around to deceive the public in the end?
The public is hereby assured that the Mighty Minority will not rest until credible communication on the status of the twelve containers filled with gold and cash is transparently made to the general public by the Minister for Interior with additional responsibility for National Security and culprits prosecuted.
AirMed Flight and Cavok Air private jet transporting suspected Cocaine and Cash
Ladies and gentlemen, on another security matter related to our airspace, the Minority Caucus calls on National Security to as a matter of urgency, make public the content of cargo suspected to be cocaine and cash, transported into the country by two suspicious flights namely AirMed flight N823AM and Cavok Air private jet, Antonov An-12B which landed on the tarmac of Kotoka International Airport in March 2025, from Gran Canaria; an island of Spain and departed to the same Gran Canaria days after their arrival.
Reliable intelligence intercepted by the Minority Caucus indicates that on March 20, 2025, AirMed flight N823AM which is an air ambulance designed specifically to carry patients, landed at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana and remained in the country for five days before departing at 0100 hours (1am) on March 25, 2025 back to Gran Canaria.
Our intelligence further posits that no patient was transported by the said AirMed flight neither to nor from Accra. There is no evidence of medical referral or patient accompanying or on board the flight on either legs of the flight.
We are reliably informed that contrary to the expectation that the AirMed flight would carry patients, the purpose for which it was designed and operates, it rather on this occasion, carried suspicious cargo suspected to be cocaine and cash in US dollars.
In a related development, a private jet Cavok Air Antonov An-12B also landed at Kotoka International Airport on March 12, 2025 from the same island of Spain; Gran Canaria and remained in country for thirteen days and departed at 0640 hours (6:40am) on March 25, 2025, to Gran Canaria; the very day AirMed flight also departed to Gran Canaria.
While it is intriguing that the two suspicious flights would depart to the same location on the same day, even more intriguing is the cargo suspiciously transported by these aircrafts to and from Gran Canaria, an island known for its notoriety in drug trafficking and money laundering.
We call on National Security to make full disclosure of the content of the cargo carried by these two aircrafts into the country as well as the cargo carried out of the country by the same aircrafts to Gran Canaria, consistent with the principle of transparency, in our collective quest to fighting drug trafficking and money laundering.
Consistent with the transparency demonstrated to the general public by security agencies as evident in the media reportage carried on March 4, 2025 when National Investigations Bureau intercepted $350 million worth of cocaine in Cape Coast, it is the expectation of the Minority Caucus that transparency in such critical matters of airspace security is upheld in order to assure our citizens of the continued security of our airspace.
The Minority Caucus is concerned about the sudden incidents of drug trafficking and money laundering rearing its ugly head in the country, barely three months after the NPP handed over power to NDC.Â
Reported Pirate Attack
The Ghana Armed Forces on March 29, 2025 issued a Press Release in which the public was informed of investigations being conducted by the Ghana Navy into a suspected pirate attack on a Ghanaian registered fishing vessel, MENGXIN 1, which attack took place in Ghanaian waters on the evening of Thursday March 27, 2025.
The press release further provided that at approximately 1753 hours, reports indicated that seven armed individuals suspected to be pirates boarded the ship and fired warning shots, prompting several crew members to seek cover in safe area.
The pirates allegedly stayed on board for three hours after assembling all on deck and confiscating their mobile phones. The Captain, Chief Mate and Chief Engineer of the vessel, all Chinese nationals were allegedly kidnapped by the pirates remain missing.
While we urge full scale investigation into the incident to apprehend the pirates, we call on the government to resource the Ghana Navy with the required complement of Offshore Patrol Vessels to fully equip the Navy to more comprehensively and effectively safeguard our waters. on March 29, 2025.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, you will recall the diligent attempt of the erstwhile government to procure two Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Ghana Navy some time in 2024.
This plan in its final stages, was fiercely opposed by the NDC who called for the process to be terminated. Subsequently, the process of purchase was thus aborted.
As pirates are aware of Ghana Navy’s lack of Offshore Patrol Vessels, the vulnerabilities in the security of our waters are likely to be exploited by pirates.
To strengthen security on our waters and serve as deterrence, we strongly urge the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Defence, to prioritize the purchase of two Offshore Patrol Vessels and recommence the processes for parliamentary approval and subsequent purchase of same.
We on the Minority side, pledge our support for the process to become successful.
Conclusion
To conclude, Ghana in the past eight years, had been ranked favorably by notable global organizations as the second most peaceful country in Africa in respect of crime rate and globally, ahead of Australia and Canada.
It is therefore imperative that under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana continues to be safe and not degenerate into a safe haven for pirates, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Thank you.