The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has assured the public that swift measures will be taken to curb the rising abuse of drugs.
This was revealed following an interception of consignments of opioid pharmaceuticals at the Tema Ports valued at 20 million cedis.
The shipment bound for Niger was found to contain highly potent painkillers with dosages exceeding approved limits.
The discovery was made during a joint inspection of multiple state agencies, including the Food and Drugs Authority, FDA, Customs Division, Ghana Revenue Authority, and the Narcotics Control Commission.
The confiscated shipment included the following pharmaceutical products:
Rahol Tapentadol 250 mg – 26 cartons
Tafradol Tapentadol 120 mg—160 cartons
Timaking Tapentadol 120 mg – 40 cartons
Loperamide 2 mg—190 cartons
Chlorpheniramine Maleate—320 cartons
Officials say the quantities and dosages of these drugs far exceed the limits set by the Food and Drugs Authority, raising concerns about their intended use.
“Nowhere in the world. And, when we check the labels, there are no, what do you call, manufacturers on the labels. They are unauthorized. They are illegal. It has never been authorized by any country.
So, we cannot be a transit point for unauthorized drugs. So once we have impounded it, we are moving per our laws. We are going to court. I mean, get the order for its safe destruction or disposal. But we’ll be in talks with, for the sake of the future.
Constantly, we’ll see how we deploy other means to stem the tide of the influx of opioids in our country. It’s an issue we are very serious about. It doesn’t mean that we don’t want to facilitate trade. And therefore, henceforth, we’ll be very keen on transit goods. And nobody should misconstrue it to be anti-facilitation of trade. It is in the interest of the nation.,” the health minister said.
