The Inspector-General of Police’s Special Operations Team has arrested 74 suspects, including foreign nationals, in two separate intelligence-led operations targeting narcotics trafficking and other criminal activities in Ghana’s Upper East Region.

The coordinated operations, conducted in Paga and the Navrongo Municipality, form part of intensified efforts by the Ghana Police Service to combat violent crime and drug-related offences within border and inland communities.

In the first operation on May 20, 2026, officers carried out a targeted raid within the Ghana–Burkina Faso border buffer zone at Paga, leading to the arrest of 40 suspects made up of 28 males and 12 females.

According to police, those arrested included 23 Ghanaians, eight Nigerians, six Burkinabés, one Malian and one Togolese national. Security operatives also retrieved parcels and sacks of suspected narcotic substances, alongside five motorbikes believed to have been used in distribution activities.

In a second intelligence-driven operation conducted on May 22, 2026, the Special Operations Team swooped on identified criminal hotspots within the Navrongo Municipality, including the Condemned Road Corridor, “After Six” Spot and “Lighter Inn” Spot.

The exercise resulted in the arrest of an additional 34 suspects, comprising 32 males and two females.

Police further recovered 11 motorbikes, quantities of suspected narcotic substances and assorted foreign cigarettes during the operation.

All suspects were subsequently arraigned before High Court Two on the same day, presided over by Justice Ernest Pascal Gemadzie.

Police disclosed that 16 suspects were remanded into police custody and are expected to reappear before the court on June 4, 2026, while 22 others are currently being profiled for further action.

The Ghana Police Service stated that investigations remain ongoing, with all suspects assisting inquiries as security agencies intensify efforts to track down additional persons linked to criminal activities in the affected communities.