Ghana Police Arrest 74 Suspects in Upper East Region Drug Crackdown

The Ghana Police Service’s Special Operations Team carried out two intelligence‑led sweeps in the Upper East Region on May 20 and May 22, 2026. The first operation in Paga, near the Ghana‑Burkina Faso border, detained 40 people – 28 men and 12 women – including 23 Ghanaians, eight Nigerians, six Burkinabés, one Malian and one Togolese. Police seized parcels and sacks of suspected narcotics and five motorbikes used for distribution. Two days later, a second sweep in the Navrongo Municipality targeted known criminal hotspots and arrested 34 suspects (32 men, two women). Officers recovered 11 motorbikes, additional narcotic quantities and assorted foreign cigarettes. All suspects were arraigned before High Court Two in Navrongo; the court remanded 16 to police custody and set a June 4 hearing for the remainder, while 22 are being profiled for further action. The police say investigations continue to identify additional participants in the drug‑trafficking network.