General News of Friday, 23 June 2017

Source: GNA

NACOB destroys $2m worth of drugs

The destruction follows a court order for NACOB to burn the narcotics The destruction follows a court order for NACOB to burn the narcotics

The Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) on Thursday destroyed narcotic substances estimated at two million dollars at Bundase Training Camp of the Ghana Armed Forces at Pampram in the Greater Accra Region.

This follows a court order for NACOB to burn the narcotics intercepted from drug peddlers for the past 13 years after those cases were dealt with.

Mr Michael Addo, the Deputy Director of NACOB, said the illegal substances destroyed include heroin, cocaine, sativa, methamphetamine and cannabis seized at various points such as the Kotoka International Airport, the borders, Cargo Village and Ghana Post.

Mr Addo said the drugs were seized between 2003 and 2016 and that the destruction also formed part of the commemoration of the World Drugs Day which falls on June 26.

He said the destruction was also to send signals to the public that the drugs were harmful to the human body.

The exercise was done in the presence of officials from the court, the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), and Environmental Protection Council.

Personnel from the GSA tested the drugs to confirm if they were the actual drugs intercepted, after which they were set ablaze.