From Runway To Red Flag: Probing the Cocaine and Cash Allegations at Kotoka International Airport

Background

The arrival of AirMed Flight NH23AM and Cavok Air’s Antonov AN-12B at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in March 2025 from Gran Canaria (Spain), allegedly carrying narcotics and U.S. currency, has triggered serious concerns about national security, aviation oversight, and international crime networks. The allegations span across multiple jurisdictions because and as we read the flights landed in multiple countries. The issue was made public by one Ntim Fordjour.

I have followed the conversation around this Ntim Fordjour cocaine and money laundering allegations. Initially, I thought we will handle it in much more professional manner, where we will use scientific and investigative methods to unravel what truly happened and determine people’s criminal culpability. And even determine whether the existing security arrangement at the airport is robust enough to deal drug trafficking. In my view, this matter is solvable, and if we stopped the politics and treat it as a suspected crime to be investigated, we can get to the bottom of the matter.

By this piece, I am not claiming to be an expert in such narcotics and money laundering investigations, although I have since this year been reading around the area, I think there are a few things we can try. Thus, I present my view, based on my reading of investigations of this type.  

The approach integrates principles of criminal investigation, aviation security, narcotics control, and international cooperation. Criminals leave traces of the crime and with the right methods we can discover it. It does not really matter if the aircrafts in issue have left Ghana. The investigation require a systematic, intelligence-led, multi-agency approach to uncover the truth behind the suspected trafficking operation.
I propose a few steps:

Securing the Crime Scene & Preserving Evidence

Although the aircraft have departed, the ramp (the area where the aircrafts were parked) at the KIA must be treated as a secondary crime scene. The airport security must do the following:

1. secure surveillance footage from March 2025 showing both flights landing, offloading, and refueling, if at all.
2. obtain aircraft ground handling records, cargo manifests, and customs clearance forms. It is not possible that the aircrafts will fly into Ghana without any documents;
3. interview ground staff, customs officers, and aviation security personnel who were present
4. retrieve and reserve flight tracking data, ATC communication logs, and CCTV of cargo movement on and off the aircrafts. 
5. If cargo were offloaded from the flights, what was offloaded.

There is extensive recording of aviation matters and it is near impossible that we will not have documents in the record of the aviation authority about those flights. Just examine them.

Aircraft Documentation and Flight History

I get more detailed with the records. Let’s do the following: 

1. request official flight plans from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and compare with actual routes flown via ADS-B data (an aviation surveillance technology).
2. Confirm ownership and operators of the aircraft through ICAO aircraft registry databases.
3. Investigate previous landing locations of these aircraft (especially Cavok’s Antonov AN-12B), focusing on high-risk narcotics regions.
4. Investigate the history of the Gran Canaria for Narcotics and determine the mode of operation of drug syndicate there- and from reliable sources.

Cargo Contents & Customs Declarations

Review all cargo content disclosures. We may start with 

1. Conducting forensic audits of declared cargo vs. manifest vs. physical inspection logs.[there records will still be available with the airport officials]
2. Determine if there were any customs exemptions invoked—such as diplomatic clearances and which diplomats were involved
3. Interview the Customs Division Official of GRA for any inconsistencies in clearance or inspection. Interview the officers and be spot any operational breaches and identify any relaxation of the rules.

Passenger and Crew Vetting

We can then turn our attention to the passenger and crew members on board the flight. In the Domican republican investigations, the evidence showed that the passenger were members of a drug trafficking syndicate who had past record of narcotic drugs. 

1. Review passenger lists and crew identities for both inbound and outbound flights.
2. Conduct background checks via INTERPOL, Europol, and Ghana Immigration on all individuals involved.
3. Investigate lack of medical referrals, since the aircraft were reportedly designated for medical purposes. This could amount to false flight designation—a tactic used by traffickers. 
4. Check for who chartered the flight and how the payments were made. Investigate the background of entities linked to the flight and for their involvement in narcotic drugs.

Trace the Money

Money laundering allegations are easy to trace. As it has been alleged, and if physical U.S. cash was indeed offloaded then we should roll in these institutions:

1. The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to trace large USD movements in banks and forex bureaux post-flight.
2. Investigate who received the people on board the aircraft for the period they were in Ghana. 
3. Determine which hotels they stayed and how did they get there;
4. Who booked those hotels for them. 
5. Investigate the banks or forex bureau they have received and lodge human sums of dollars within the period of the incident. 
6. Investigate any real estate companies or vehicle purchases shortly after March 2025 which could signal money laundering.

Narcotics Analysis & Linkages

If the cargo containing narcotics were discharged into Ghana, then let us interview the people at the port and trace their involvement in such matters. 

Also in investigations, there is the Principle of Exchange, also known as Locard’s Exchange Principle, which states that whenever two entities come into contact, there is a mutual transfer of materials between them. So we can one of the following:

1. Examination of the Departure Site for Trace Evidence: Investigators can collect microscopic materials such as fibers, hair, or soil that may have been transferred from the aircraft or its cargo.
2. Tool Marks and Impressions: Marks left by loading equipment or containers can be analyzed to determine the handling and movement of narcotics. 
3. Environmental Sampling: Air and Surface Samples: Collecting samples from the environment can detect the presence of narcotic particles or related chemical residues.

Trace residues of cocaine can persist on various surfaces for extended periods, even after the visible drug has been removed. Studies have shown that measurable amounts of cocaine can remain on materials such as plastic, laminate, and artificial leather for up to four weeks under ambient conditions. The Ghana Police Forensic Lab has forensic investigators who can detect these trace amounts using specialized techniques such as mass spectrometry or immunochromatographic tests. These methods are sensitive enough to identify microscopic particles of cocaine, aiding in investigations even when the primary substance is no longer present.

In this situation, the last known position of the alleged aircraft in Ghana was on 25 March 2025, we are still within the 4 weeks period, if we are minded we can find the trace evidence and subject it to forensic investigations.

The clothes of the officers who first inspected the cargo on board the aircraft can be subjected to forensic detection, even if there are washed. We can even collect trace evidence from their boots and protective clothing for investigation. 

Collaborate with Spanish Narcotics Authorities to determine if Gran Canaria is being used as a new route for drugs.

International Cooperation

According to FactCheckghana, and according to the open source flight activity history of N823AM, as captured by FlightAware, the flight moved from its base in Birmingham Shuttlesworth International to St John’s International Airport in Canada on March 18, 2025. It moved the following day from Canada to the Santa Maria International Airport on the Island of Santa Maria in Portugal. On that same day, March 19, 2025, the AirMed N823AM moved from Santa Maria to Gran Canaria International Airport. The following day, on March 20, 2025, the flight moved from Gran Canaria and landed at the Kotoka International Airport at 9:02 GMT. It stayed at Kotoka until it departed on March 25, 2025, at 1:02 am, back to Gran Canaria. On that same day, it went back to Santa Maria and then to St John’s International in Canada. So there is enough bases for us to do the following:

1. Issue a Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to Spain for:
2. Verify Flight origin and Passenger and cargo logs.
3. Company registration of AirMed and Cavok Air entities
4. Work closely with the UNODC, WCO, and INTERPOL West Africa Central Bureau for information on what they know about the flights and narcotic drugs.

Interview the Alleged Whistleblower

It is claimed that Ntim Fordjour is a whistleblower, if that is the case, then by section 1(1)(a) of the Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720) he may disclose an information if he has reasonable cause to believe that the information tends to show an economic crime has been committed, is about to be committed or is likely to be committed. So Ntim Fordjour’s Cocaine disclosure of an impropriety is protected if

1. the disclosure is made in good faith,
2. the whistleblower has reasonable cause to believe that the information disclosed and an allegation of impropriety contained in it are substantially true, and
3. the disclosure is made to one or more of the persons or institutions specified in section 3

Based on this, the allegations are required to be expeditiously investigated within 60 days after the disclosure. And he must be able to assist with investigations.

He claims to have had intelligence, and so we should be looking to him ask these questions:

1. Who provided you with this intelligence regarding cocaine trafficking in Ghana?
2. How did you obtain this information about cocaine trafficking in Ghana?
3. Have you received similar intelligence in the past?
4. What motivated you to come forward with this information at this particular time?
5. Do you possess any documents, photographs, intercepted communications, or physical evidence to support your claims?
6. Have you shared this intelligence with anyone else? If yes, who else is aware of this information?
7. Are there specific financial transactions, bank accounts, or money-laundering operations mentioned in your intelligence?
8. Have you noticed any involvement or complicity of local authorities or institutions in these trafficking operations? Name them.
9. What immediate risks or security challenges do you believe law enforcement should address based on your intelligence? 
10. What is your personal connection to the trafficking network? Are you directly involved or simply an external informant?
11. Are you willing to work further with law enforcement to verify and expand upon your intelligence?
12. Under what circumstances would you provide additional details or ongoing support regarding your claims?
13. Who does he suspect would be involved in the syndicate.

I can go on. If we are so minded we will solve this without any sweat.

Just some thoughts for those who want to act on this matter.