The Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Brigadier General Maxwell Obiba Mantey, has described the escalating drug trade as a national emergency, warning that drug barons are now gaining influence at the highest levels of society.
He made these remarks when the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior called on him to engage with the leadership of the commission and assess operational challenges hampering the fight against illicit drugs.
Brigadier General Mantey appealed for stronger institutional support and morale-boosting interventions to preserve the integrity and dedication of NACOC officers.
The Head of the Commission’s Research Bureau, Dr. Basha Ligbi, outlined several critical setbacks, including non-functional body scanners at airport terminals, inadequate office infrastructure, overcrowded detention facilities, and deteriorating vehicles.
He urged that the Commission’s headquarters be reclassified as a security zone, citing growing security risks due to private encroachment and the emergence of nearby high-rise developments.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. James Agalga, assured the Commission of the commitment to push its concerns to Parliament and to engage key stakeholders in the justice sector to fast-track reforms in support of NACOC’s mandate.
