JoyNews has confirmed that AirMed Flight N823AM landed in Ghana and stayed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for five days before departing for Gran Canaria, Spain. This development has raised concerns raised by the Minority in Parliament regarding the aircraft’s activities in the country.
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defense and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, alleged that the air ambulance and another private jet may have been involved in drug trafficking or money laundering, a claim that has yet to be confirmed.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 reveals that AirMed N823AM was initially scheduled to depart Gran Canaria on March 20, 2025, at 3:55 AM, and arrive in Accra at 8:08 AM. However, it was delayed and eventually departed at 4:59 AM, landing in Accra at 9:03 AM. The aircraft then stayed in Ghana for five days before departing Kotoka International Airport on March 25, 2025, at 1:01 AM, and landing in Gran Canaria at 5:12 AM.
Since then, the aircraft has completed fifteen flights, including trips to Santa Maria, St. John’s, Bangor, and Birmingham on the same day it departed from Ghana. It has also flown to Nigeria, with a recent flight from Gran Canaria to Lagos on March 28, 2025.
The Minority in Parliament has raised concerns about the lack of medical referrals or patients on board the air ambulance, suggesting that suspicious cargo, possibly containing cocaine and US dollars, was being transported instead. They have called for transparency and a full disclosure of the cargo transported by both AirMed Flight N823AM and Cavok Air’s Antonov An-12B, which coincidentally departed on the same day.
President John Mahama has directed the National Security and relevant authorities to conduct a full-scale investigation following these allegations. The Minority emphasizes the importance of transparency in combating drug trafficking and money laundering, urging National Security to provide details of the cargo brought into and taken out of the country by these aircraft.
The recent interception of $350 million worth of cocaine in Cape Coast by the National Investigations Bureau has further underscored the need for vigilance in monitoring suspicious flights linked to illegal activities. The call for a thorough investigation into the activities of these aircraft reflects the government’s commitment to combating illicit activities within the country.
