Germany donates vehicle to Narcotic Commission: To transport sniffer dogs
The German Government has handed over a special operational vehicle for transporting detective dogs to the Narcotic Control Commission to support the fight against drug trafficking and crime.
The customised Mercedes Benz Sprinter vehicle, worth €77,000, is to facilitate the deployment of the K9 team of the Narcotic Control Commission for operations.
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It can convey eight detective dogs with their technical handlers at a go and can run on an air-conditioner, even when the engine is off, to keep the dogs calm.
The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, received the vehicle in Accra on March 1, 2022, at a ceremony attended also by the acting Director-General of the Narcotic Control Commission, Mr Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, and some officials of the ministry.
The Deputy German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Helge Sander, said the gesture was part of the German Government's support to Ghana’s security sector towards the fight against drug trafficking.
Over the years, he said, the German Government had supported the training of officials of the Narcotic Control Commission and other security agencies, including the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service.
Commitment
Mr Dery said the support would strengthen the relationship between Ghana and Germany.
He said the government was committed to ensuring that drug traffickers were prevented from using West Africa as their transit point.
The government, he said, was committed to dealing with the drug menace to overcome the challenge it posed to the country.
He said in addition to a three-unit accommodation provided recently by the government to house the K9 dogs, the vehicle would complement the management of the dogs and their operations.
The German Government, through the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), has provided technical and logistical support to the Narcotics Control Commission over the years — including the donation of a 250kVA capacity generator plant, dogs, and a three-unit prefabricated dog kennel — while the KBA has been training some officers of the commission, particularly the detective dog handlers of the K9 Unit.
Mr Dery said he was optimistic that the support would strengthen the commission’s drug law enforcement operations in the country.
He said the K9 Unit had become an integral part of the commission's enforcement operations at the airport, seaport and highway interdiction operations.
"The presence of the detective dogs, at least, is deterrent enough to ward off potential criminals, promoting a sense of safety and security among people," he said.