NACOB Boss Clarifies 'Cocaine Politics' Comments

The Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) has clarified that his claim that certain politicians used drug money to sponsor their 2008 election campaigns wasn�t directed at any one particular party. Speaking at the ongoing 22nd heads of national drug law Enforcement agencies in Africa, Mr. Akrasi Sarpong told the press Tuesday afternoon that his comment was merely to voice out his concerns about the volume of money used by politicians in campaign seasons. �What I said is that in the West African context, we have got three examples including Ghana where Politics have been infiltrated with drug money. I mentioned Guinea Bissau, I mentioned Guinea and I said that irrespective of the Political party a Ghanaian politician had been involved in drugs�. �I did say that it is a disturbing trend and for us in NACOB as much as this is captured in cocaine and political power let�s not take it lightly, let nobody play a game for any political party�. �They depend on the press to carry out their propaganda, they depend on law enforcements to maintain their power and we are critical to the survival of democracy in this country�. Touching on issues of missing drugs in the country, Mr Akrasi Sarpong admonished the media to be consistent in reporting drug issues. The representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Justice Tettey bemoaned the high incidence of cocaine users in West and Central Africa. Mr Tettey urged African governments to improve their data collection processes on illicit drugs.