Ghana Ranked 5th Cocaine Source At Antwerp Port
Ghana has been ranked as the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at the port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2025, the only African country among top Latin American states. Belgian customs figures show nearly 55 tonnes of cocaine was seized at Antwerp last year, 24 percent more than 44 tonnes in 2024.
The data, presented by Belgium Finance Minister Jan Jambon on January 21, 2026 and reported by public broadcaster VRT, lists Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia ahead of Ghana. VRT described Ghana as the odd one out in the group, since all others are producer and transit states in Latin America.
Ghana’s ranking reflects a run of large seizures at Antwerp linked to Tema. In late November 2025, Belgian authorities found 2,829 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in cassava flour from Tema, followed by 1,158 kilogrammes in another shipment in December. Together the two hauls total about 4 tonnes, roughly 7 percent of all cocaine seized at Antwerp in 2025.
The Belgian figures form part of a wider pattern of drug busts traced to Ghanaian ports in recent months. Dutch customs seized 4,500kg of cocaine hidden in timber from Tema at Amsterdam in June 2025, while Australian authorities seized 320kg of methamphetamine in charcoal from Ghana valued at A$296 million in June 2026. In September 2026, French customs at Dunkirk found 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in plastic waste from Ghana valued at 225 million euros.
President John Mahama convened security chiefs on September 17 and ordered an inter-agency task force to submit a roadmap within two weeks to stop drugs moving through ports and borders. Ten people including four Customs officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority were put before the courts, with four remanded until October 13, while Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers known as Bolle Jos remains at large, according to JoyNews research.
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Author: Stella Sunu
