By: Hannah Dadzie
A two-day International High-Level Conference on Drug Markets in West Africa opened in Accra, on November 27, 2025, with experts warning that the region’s fast-expanding drug economy, driven by synthetic substances and cocaine trafficking, is outpacing national and regional response efforts.
Co-hosted by the Government of Ghana, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), the meeting brings together representatives from ECOWAS, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), law enforcement agencies, and civil society actors. The conference aimed at mapping the future of West Africa’s drug markets and strengthen coordinated strategies to address emerging threats.
Day One focused on mapping synthetic drug and cocaine markets across the region. Panels presented baseline studies drawn from extensive stakeholder consultations, providing preliminary insights into the spread of synthetic drugs. Experts discussed priority challenges, the growth of the cocaine market, trafficking routes, and the operational difficulties countries face in responding effectively.
The conference revealed an alarming surge in synthetic drug production, consumption, and trafficking, with analysts warning that the rapidly evolving drug ecosystem now constitutes one of the most pressing public health and security threats in West Africa. Asia and Europe were identified as major nodes supplying the region.
A working draft showed that over the past decade, the illicit market has shifted from traditional plant-based substances to highly potent, laboratory-made psychoactive compounds. Low entry barriers and the rise of online platforms have enabled diverse criminal groups to operate through decentralized networks. As a result, health and social impacts, overdoses, chronic illnesses, severe mental health disorders, and community disruption, are becoming widespread, especially among the youth. It indicated that, the crisis has grown so severe that two West African countries declared states of emergency in 2024, a measure previously seen only during epidemics and pandemics.
The draft also outlined outlined a troubling timeline: tramadol’s emergence in 2008; Nigeria’s methamphetamine production boom in 2010; the spread of ecstasy; the rise of “kush” in Sierra Leone; and the appearance of nitazenes and other new psychoactive substances. By 2025, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau were recording an even broader range of synthetic drugs, methamphetamine use had sharply increased, and The Gambia had reported record ecstasy seizures. Criminal networks are now aggressively targeting local consumers, reducing prices and encouraging poly-drug use, particularly among young people.
Experts also highlighted that West Africa has also solidified its place as a major global hub in the cocaine trade, with multi-tonne consignments routinely stored across countries. Cocaine consumption is rising in major urban centers, while transnational organized crime groups continue to tighten their influence in the region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ghana’s Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Brigadier-General Maxwell Mantey, warned of a dramatic shift in regional drug dynamics.
“Here in West Africa, we see a clear sign that our region is shifting from being only a transit route to becoming a market and, in some cases, a production hub,” he said.
Brigadier-General Mantey highlighted the global expansion of synthetic drugs, including methamphetamine, tramadol, and the increasing threat of fentanyl analogues entering African markets. He noted that traffickers are rapidly adapting, using E-commerce, social media, postal services, express courier systems, and air cargo networks to transport low-volume, high-potency drugs disguised as legitimate goods.
“The 2025 World Drug Report paints a challenging picture. Globally, the synthetic drug trade is expanding faster than ever. West Africa is no longer only a transit zone; it is becoming a market, and in some instances, a production hub.” He added
He outlined steps NACOC is taking to address the threat, including enhancing border intelligence, improving precursor control, strengthening forensic capabilities, and collaborating with international systems such as the IONICS Incident Communication System and GRIPS to track suspicious shipments. He urged participants to strengthen early warning systems, intensify intelligence and financial investigations, and develop coordinated action plans.
Representing the Netherlands, Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs, Joost Flamand, indicated that the global drug trade is a shared threat requiring unified action.
“Criminal groups do not know borders or limitations. The consequences of the illicit drug trade affect security, stability, public health, and governance in Africa, Europe, and beyond,” he said.
He called for deeper international cooperation, stronger partnerships between diplomats, security agencies, and health sectors, and evidence-based responses. He praised Ghana and GI-TOC for their leadership and reaffirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to combating organized crime in the region.
Director of GI-TOC, Mark Shaw, described West Africa as facing a “fast-paced evolution of drug markets” that is outstripping government capacities.
“Our conclusion is that the challenges here in West Africa are significant, and the evolution of drug markets is outpacing our responses. The evidence shows that what we are doing is not working effectively. We need to do more, do better, and do it together,” he said.
Mr Shaw raised concerns over the rise of synthetic opioids, particularly kush, which has been linked to hundreds of unexplained deaths in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. He stressed that limited data and intelligence gaps hinder overdose prevention, supply chain disruption, and effective treatment.
He also cautioned that the cocaine trade, fuelled by increased production in the Andean region and routes through West Africa to Europe, is inflicting social and security harm on both continents. He called for improved evidence-gathering, stronger criminal justice systems, and deeper cross-border collaboration.
The ECOWAS Commission, represented by Principal Programme Officer for Law Enforcement (Drugs), Daniel Amankwaah, emphasized the urgency of accurate and up-to-date data.
“By the time you identify the content of one substance, another emerges. We moved from tramadol to kush and now trafadol. This is a complex and sophisticated issue,” he said.
He cited progress under the West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU), which now produces annual reports with contributions from all member states, but stressed the need for more analytical work to keep pace with evolving trends. He welcomed the ongoing collaboration between GI-TOC, ECOWAS, and national focal points as essential to closing data gaps and improving balanced, evidence-based policies.
“Better data is not a technical luxury. It is the foundation of harm reduction, treatment, and security strategies that meet real needs,” he added.
Participants are expected to develop concrete recommendations to strengthen regional resilience against drug trafficking and associated organized crime as the dialogue continues.
