I won’t fight Tramadol again if this is the result – FDA Upper West boss

The Upper West Regional Director of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Sankpal Dafaari Kelvin, has renewed calls for stricter punishments for individuals involved in the illegal sale and abuse of Tramadol and unregistered drugs, describing current sanctions as too weak to deter offenders.
Speaking during a drug abuse sensitisation programme held on July 18 for basic school pupils and organised by Aware Minds Foundation, Kelvin recalled a disturbing recent incident in Nabulo, Sissala East Municipality, where the FDA uncovered a shop selling only unregistered drugs, including Tramadol 500mg — a dosage far above Ghana’s legal limit of 100mg.
Kelvin detailed how the May 30 raid nearly escalated into violence when residents attempted to retaliate the following day.
Intervention from the police and Upper West Regional Minister prevented harm and led to the suspect’s arrest.
Despite the severity of the offence, the court fined the suspect just GHC 1,920, far below the expected 15-year sentence or 1,500 penalty units provided for under Section 118 of the Public Health Act.
“I spent GHC 6,950 on fuel, accommodation, and logistics for that single operation. Is this judgment fair?” he asked.
“If I decide not to fight Tramadol again, am I wrong?”
Citing a similar case in 2023, where an offender was fined GHC 2,000 (later increased to GHC 4,000), Kelvin revealed that the suspect even offered GHC 30,000 to settle the case out of court—an offer he declined.
He insisted that custodial sentences are necessary to send a clear message.
“I wanted someone to go to prison to serve as an example,” he said, adding that lax punishments undermine enforcement and waste public resources.