The Executive Secretary of the embattled Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Akrasi Sarpong must resign over the anti-drugs state body’s recent claim – which has been countered – that it collaborated with UK authorities to arrest a Ghanaian drug trafficker at Heathrow Airport, Security Analyst David Agbee has said.

The Executive Director of the Ghana Institute of Governance and Security told STARR NEWS in an interview Friday that Sarpong cannot continue to hold himself as Executive Secretary following the UK’s counter that there was no collaboration between NACOB and Britain in the recent arrest of Nayele Ametefeh for attempting to traffic 12.5kgs of cocaine concealed in her briefcase and handbag.

A statement issued by the UK High Commission in Ghana on Friday said: “UK authorities had no prior knowledge of the intentions of Ms Nayele Ametefeh before flying from Accra to London on 9/10 November.”

“UK authorities work closely with NACOB to ensure that, wherever possible, any potential drug trafficker to the UK from Ghana is arrested here in Ghana and not permitted to board a flight in order to traffic drugs,” the High Commission added.

It followed an earlier statement issued by NACOB, signed by Deputy Executive Secretary Richard Nii Lante Blankson that Ametefeh was arrested “through the collaborative effort of Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and its British partners.”

According to that statement: “On the 9th November, 2014, one Ms. Nayele Ametefeh boarded British Airways flight number BA 078 from Accra to London. She was arrested at Heathrow International Airport. She had flown on a first-class ticket using travel miles on British Airways point. The ticket had been purchased on 8th October, 2014 and had been altered three times.”

It added: “In her possession she had two (2) suitcases. Only one (1) of the suitcases was checked in (Baggage tag number BA 059801) and nothing of interest was found. In the other suitcase which was believed to be hand carried onto the plane, 10kgs of cocaine was found among her clothing. The cocaine were wrapped in one kilo blocks. In her handbag, she had further two (2) kilos (blocks).

“It is worthy to note that Ms. Nayele Ametefe travelled on Austrian passport number P4187659 and not on Ghanaian Diplomatic passport as being speculated. She also had in her possession an ordinary Ghanaian passport number G0364497 issued on 3rd August, 2012.

Investigations are still ongoing.”

In the light of the counter claim by the British High Commission in Ghana, Mr Agbee believes Akrasi Sarpong “must do the honourable thing by resigning,” unless his Office is able to come out with a convincing explanation to the contrary.

Agbee's call is in tandem with an earlier call by Dr Kwesi Aning of the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra that "heads must roll" at NACOB over the cocaine haul.