“Tinker Island must go” — Muntaka targets Kumasi’s popular drug haven in six-month operation
Interior Minister, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has issued a strong directive to the Ghana Police Service and the Narcotic Control Commission to dismantle a notorious drug enclave in Kumasi, known locally as “Tinker Island”.
The area has gained a reputation as a hub for drug distribution, attracting dealers and users from various parts of the city.
During a working visit to the Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters on Friday (4 April), the Minister described the area—located around Alabar and straddling the Manhyia South and Asawase constituencies—as a serious threat to public safety and the moral fabric of society.
“In the next six months, if you are able to do something for me, I will be so happy,” Muntaka told security officials during an engagement. “We have a place in Kumasi around Alabar, it is so unpopular. We call it Tinker. That is the task that I want to see.”
The Interior Minister, who also serves as Member of Parliament for Asawase, said the operation to eliminate the drug hub would be a symbolic gesture of commitment to his new portfolio.
“This is to welcome me and show that the Interior Minister is from this Region. I want “Tinker” to be a thing of the past in the next six months, and I will be very happy,” he said. “Working together with the Narcotic Control Commission, this is a problem that you will use to honour me. And when you do that, it will be a golden honour upon me.”
Muntaka’s charge comes as concerns grow over the proliferation of drugs and its social consequences, especially among the youth.
