IGP’s Special Operations Team arrests 74 suspects in Upper East anti-crime crackdown
Police retrieve suspected narcotics, motorbikes and foreign cigarettes during intelligence-led operations in Paga and Navrongo
The Inspector-General of Police’s Special Operations Team has arrested 74 suspects in two separate intelligence-led operations aimed at combating narcotics trafficking, violent crime and other criminal activities in the Upper East Region.
The operations, carried out in Paga and the Navrongo Municipality, formed part of intensified police efforts to clamp down on criminal networks and improve security in the region.
In the first operation conducted on May 20, 2026, at Paga within the Ghana–Burkina Faso border buffer zone, the police arrested 40 suspects comprising 28 males and 12 females.
The suspects include 23 Ghanaians, eight Nigerians, six Burkinabés, one Malian and one Togolese national.
Police retrieved several exhibits during the operation, including parcels and sacks of suspected narcotic substances, as well as five motorbikes believed to have been used in the distribution of the substances.
A second intelligence-led swoop carried out on May 22, 2026, targeted identified criminal hotspots within the Navrongo Municipality, including the Condemned Road Corridor, the “After Six” Spot and the “Lighter Inn” Spot.
That operation led to the arrest of 34 suspects made up of 32 males and two females. Officers also retrieved 11 motorbikes, quantities of suspected narcotic substances and assorted foreign cigarettes.
The suspects were subsequently arraigned before High Court Two, presided over by His Lordship Justice Ernest Pascal Gemadzie, on the same day.
Sixteen of the suspects were remanded into police custody and are expected to reappear before the court on June 4, 2026. The remaining 22 suspects are currently undergoing profiling for further police action.
Police say all the suspects remain in custody assisting with investigations, while efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest other individuals linked to criminal activities in the affected communities.
Mike 105.3FM I Navrongo | David Adapuna
