Former Ghana MP Demands Probe Into Cocaine Seizures Linked to Country Since January 2025
Former Ghanaian MP Andrew Egyapa Mercer has demanded a bipartisan parliamentary probe into multiple cocaine seizures linked to Ghana since January 2025, citing conflicting accounts from Lebanese authorities over a 46.7-kilogram seizure in Beirut. [1]
Ghana MP Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry
Former Sekondi MP Andrew Egyapa Mercer has called for a bipartisan parliamentary investigation into cocaine seizures linked to Ghana since January 2025. [1] He questioned how the consignments were able to leave the country and raised concerns about conflicting accounts of the latest interception in Lebanon. [1] Mercer has also given the government seven days to publish the roadmap of its anti-drug trafficking task force, which was expected to be released on October 1. [1] He wants public hearings into every Ghana-linked cocaine seizure recorded since January 2025, from Amsterdam to Beirut. [1] Mercer stated that the demands are really simple and called on the president to constitute a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry and hold public hearings. [1] He further called on the president to publish the task force roadmap within seven days. [1]
Details of Beirut Cocaine Seizure
The calls follow the arrest of a Syrian passenger at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, where Lebanese authorities reportedly seized 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine from his luggage. [1] Lebanese Customs has described the interception as the largest drug seizure in the airport's history. [1] Mercer wants President John Dramani Mahama to engage Lebanese authorities and issue a joint statement clarifying whether the Beirut operation was a Ghana-led controlled delivery and when Ghanaian security agencies were first notified. [1]
Questions Over Conflicting Accounts
Speaking on Citi FM on Wednesday, November 4, Mercer said the explanation provided by Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission appeared to differ from the account attributed to Lebanese authorities. [1] He added that the president should issue a joint statement with Lebanese authorities, including the country’s Internal Security Forces, to establish whether Ghana played a leading role in a controlled delivery operation and when local agencies became aware of the case. [1] Mercer noted that if you listen to the narrative from the Lebanese authorities and relate it to what NACOC is telling us, clearly there’s a disconnect. [1]
Lack of Arrests in Ghana
Mercer also questioned the absence of announced arrests in Ghana days after the Beirut interception, particularly given reports that NACOC had knowledge of the suspect’s movements and whereabouts while he was in the country. [1] He argued that if Ghanaian agencies had participated in a controlled delivery operation, they should also be able to identify people the suspect had interacted with locally. [1] Mercer stated that clearly we are being gaslighted. [1]
South Korea Audit on Cambodia Scams
The foreign ministry failed to raise the travel alert for Cambodia or take other necessary measures in a timely manner, even though it had been aware that job scams targeting South Koreans were worsening in the Southeast Asian nation, the state audit agency said Thursday. [2] Such crimes sparked public outrage last year after a South Korean college student was tortured to death by a Chinese scam ring in Cambodia, shedding light on a series of similar cases where young South Koreans were lured into the country with promises of high-paying jobs only to end up being kidnapped. [2] According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, the foreign ministry learned after December 2023 through information from overseas diplomatic missions and private firms that South Koreans were falling victim to job scams and kidnapping in Cambodia, with the nature of the crimes becoming increasingly brutal. [2] South Korea's Embassy in Cambodia repeatedly suggested to the ministry in April and July 2024 that the travel alert for the country be raised, but the ministry did not do so, citing that the situation fell short of the criteria for a special travel alert or other reasons. [2] It was only after media outlets reported on these crimes in August that the ministry sought to upgrade the travel alert. [2] The alert was ultimately raised in September only after the student's death became public, according to the audit agency. [2] The BAI also pointed out that the ministry should have considered activating a task force for the protection of Korean nationals abroad, yet it failed to even hold a meeting on the matter. [2] The audit agency advised the ministry to take disciplinary measures against three ministry officials for failing to take necessary measures in time. [2]
Philippine Probe Into Child Abuse Material
Philippine police told AFP on Wednesday that three memory cards and a cell phone turned over by the son of Meghan Markle's estranged father contained child sexual abuse material. [3] Last week, Philippine police said they were investigating a laptop found alongside images of child abuse at an alleged former residence of Thomas Markle. [3] Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla told AFP at the time the country planned to take appropriate legal actions if sufficient evidence was found. [3] Markle has denied all claims against him. [3] On Wednesday, the country's national police said child abuse materials had been discovered among the cache turned over by Markle's son amid an intensifying investigation. [3] Philippine national police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr said it is not enough to simply come across some materials and immediately draw conclusions. [3] He added that authorities have to establish where these came from, who may be responsible, and whether Philippine laws were violated. [3] The revelation came a day after Mexican authorities raided a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle as part of the ongoing investigation. [3] The prosecutor's office of Mexico's Baja California state said Monday it had received an anonymous tip about the existence of child sex abuse material in a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle. [3] Investigators said the owner of the storage unit reported Markle had stopped paying rent for it in 2024 but his possessions remained secured inside. [3] Authorities reported finding magazines from Asia dating back 20 years, without giving further details, as well as computer equipment that has been taken in for further investigation. [3] British tabloid The Sun first reported last month that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr, had discovered the child abuse images while going through boxes found in his father's former home. [3] Markle had been living in Cebu in the Philippines until reportedly returning to the United States earlier this year. [3] Meghan Markle has previously said she was deeply distressed by accusations that her father had possessed images of child abuse, adding she had blocked contact between him and her children over previous troubling and disturbing allegations. [3]
What to watch next: The Board of Audit and Inspection advised the ministry to take disciplinary measures against three ministry officials, while Philippine authorities continue to establish where the materials came from and whether laws were violated.
