“Gold smuggling investigations must target financial structures” — COP Lydia Yaako Donkor

The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, has underscored the urgent need for law enforcement agencies to focus on the financial structures and criminal networks behind gold smuggling and illicit financial flows in Ghana.

According to her, investigations into gold-related crimes must go beyond arrests, seizures, and interceptions, and rather concentrate on dismantling the financial systems, facilitators, and organised criminal syndicates that profit from illegal gold trading activities.

Speaking at the opening session of a Training of Trainers programme at the Police Detective Training Academy on Wednesday, COP Donkor explained that gold smuggling and illicit financial flows have become increasingly sophisticated and are now largely driven by organised transnational criminal networks that exploit gaps within enforcement systems, financial structures, and supply chains.

She noted that the evolving nature of the gold sector requires investigators to acquire advanced and specialised investigative skills capable of responding to the growing complexity of gold-related crimes.

“These cases are often complex, cross-jurisdictional, and financially driven, requiring specialised investigative capability and stronger operational coordination between institutions,” she stated.

COP Donkor stressed that the Ghana Police Service recognises the strategic importance of strengthening law enforcement capacity to effectively detect, investigate, and disrupt organised criminal activities linked to the gold sector.

She indicated that investigators must increasingly develop expertise in areas such as financial investigation techniques, intelligence gathering, evidence collection, asset tracing, and inter-agency collaboration to effectively tackle the menace.

“To effectively disrupt gold smuggling networks and illicit financial flows, investigations must also focus on the underlying financial structures, facilitators, and criminal networks that enable and profit from these activities,” she emphasised.

The CID Director-General further highlighted the importance of parallel financial investigations and the use of financial intelligence in identifying the individuals and networks benefitting from illegal gold operations.

According to her, strengthening the use of financial analysis and asset tracing mechanisms will play a crucial role in achieving long-term disruption and deterrence against gold-related organised crime.

She also called for enhanced operational collaboration between the Ghana Police Service and key state institutions including the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), GoldBod, and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.

COP Donkor explained that stronger intelligence sharing, coordinated case referrals, joint investigations, and improved financial analysis between institutions would significantly improve Ghana’s ability to combat illicit financial flows and organised criminal networks operating within the gold sector.

“We recognise that no single institution can effectively address these threats alone, and that sustained collaboration across enforcement, intelligence, regulatory, and financial oversight institutions will be critical to success,” she added.

She described the Training of Trainers programme as an important initiative aimed at strengthening the practical investigative and operational capabilities of officers and institutions involved in combating gold smuggling and illicit financial crimes.

COP Donkor noted that the Training of Trainers model was particularly valuable because it would allow participants to transfer the knowledge and skills acquired to other officers and institutions, thereby building sustainable institutional capacity across the country.

In a significant development, she announced that the Police Detective Training Academy had agreed to incorporate a specialised gold-sector investigations module into the standard detective training curriculum of the Ghana Police Service.

She described the move as a major step towards institutionalising specialist investigative capability within the Service and ensuring that investigators are adequately equipped to respond to evolving forms of gold-related organised and financial crimes.

The CID boss reaffirmed the commitment of the Ghana Police Service to working closely with both national and international partners to strengthen enforcement mechanisms and protect the integrity of Ghana’s gold sector.

She finally commended all facilitators and participants for their dedication and encouraged officers to approach the training with a strong operational mindset to improve investigations and enforcement outcomes within their respective institutions.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith