The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested 10 students at Koforidua Technical University (KTU) for allegedly producing and selling cannabis-infused drinks and ice cream during the institution’s SRC Hall Week celebrations.
The suspects include 23-year-old Priscilla Tetteh, whom NACOC has identified as the suspected ringleader, and nine other young men believed to be part of an organised distribution network.
The arrests were made during an intelligence-led operation carried out between Friday, 31 July and Saturday, 1 August 2026. NACOC said its officers had been monitoring the suspected activity on the university campus for several months before moving in.
According to the Commission, the group was intercepted while actively selling the products to students and other patrons attending the event.
Preliminary field tests found cannabis in a number of items seized during the operation. The products included cups of “abele” ice cream, pineapple juice, sobolo drinks and fresh palm wine.
NACOC said the case represented an “emerging criminal enterprise exploiting social events and educational institutions to promote the abuse of narcotic substances among the youth”.
The operation at KTU comes less than two months after five students were arrested at Central University in a similar case. Those students were detained in June over allegations that they had produced and sold cannabis-infused ice cream, sobolo, toffees, pepper and eggs, as well as raw cannabis.
The suspects in the Central University case were named as Raphael Tetteh Konotey, 22; Abu Mohammed, 20; Leonard Daniel Obeng, 21; Emmanuel Kwaku Divine, 21; and Bethel Yeboah, 21.
Following those arrests, Central University management suspended all remaining SRC Week activities while it reviewed its procedures for managing events.
The two operations in quick succession have prompted concern over what NACOC described as a growing pattern of students commercialising narcotic substances under the cover of entertainment and entrepreneurship.
The Commission warned that educational institutions must remain “centres of learning, innovation and character development, not safe havens for drug trafficking and substance abuse”.
Deputy Director Alexander Twum-Barima recently warned that cannabis derivatives were increasingly being concealed and distributed through ordinary food products. He specifically referred to items such as the popular local snack “nkosua ne meko” and ice cream.
Twum-Barima also expressed concern about vendors establishing food stands during school activities and using them to distribute cannabis-laced products to students who may be unaware of what they are consuming.
All 10 KTU suspects remain in NACOC custody and will be processed in accordance with the law.
The Commission said it would continue to intensify intelligence-led operations across Ghana in an effort to dismantle criminal networks involved in narcotics trafficking. It said particular attention would be given to groups targeting students and other vulnerable people.
