The Director – General of NACOC, Brig. Gen. Maxwell Obuba Mantey has revealed that West Africa is shifting from being a mere transit and distribution point for drug traffickers to a production hub.

According to Brig. Gen. Mantey, while NACOC strengthens its enforcement, prevention, and operational strategies, there is a need for stronger inter- agency collaboration to combat this growing trend.

He made these revelations at the opening of a two – day dialogue organised by the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Accra Marriot Hotel in Accra, aimed at addressing the rise in synthetic drug markets across West Africa.

“We have scaled up intelligence – led operations at our borders, enhanced precursor control capacities of our staff, and deepened local partnerships”, he said.

“However, the drug trade continues to evolve, hence the need for us to continually work together in order to be ahead”.

He explained that the dialogue will enable participants to build a shared understanding of how synthetic markets are evolving in West Africa and strengthen early warning and information sharing systems, especially on new substances and trafficking methods. “

It will also help develop actionable steps in intelligence, as well as financial investigations and training that can be implemented collectively to tackle the issue”, he added.

Brig. Gen. Mantey thanked participants for their commitment and urged them to share experiences, challenges, and make recommendations on how best to clamp down on the production, distribution, and consumption of these synthetic drugs across West Africa.