Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka has disclosed that Ghana had no equipment capable of detecting narcotics when he assumed office in 2025, raising questions about the country’s capacity to intercept illicit drugs.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, October 12, 2026, Mr Muntaka said security operatives had to rely on visual inspection when suspicious substances were not detected during routine scanning.

“When we came, there was not a single gadget in this country that could detect narcotics,” he said.

He explained that officers had to physically inspect suspicious items after they passed through the normal scanning process, a situation he said hampered efforts to detect illicit drugs.

Mr Muntaka said the Ministry of the Interior had since taken steps to address the equipment gap and strengthen the country’s response to drug trafficking.

He identified narcotics trafficking, ethnic conflicts and land disputes as major security challenges confronting Ghana.

The minister’s comments come amid renewed attention to drug trafficking following recent narcotics seizures outside Ghana, intensifying calls for stronger measures to prevent the movement of illicit substances through the country.

He said various security agencies were undertaking measures to combat the problem and expressed confidence that Ghana would win the fight against narcotics.

However, Mr Muntaka did not provide details of the equipment acquired since he assumed office, the locations where they had been deployed or the extent to which the new measures had improved the detection of narcotics.