STATEMENT BY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE MS LYDIA YAAKO DONKOR, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DEPARTMENT, GHANA POLICE SERVICE – MEMBER, INTERPOL AFRICA COMMITTEE ON THE OCCASION OF THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY OF POLICE COOPERATION | 7 SEPTEMBER 2026
1. Today, Ghana joins the international law-enforcement community in commemorating the United Nations International Day of Police Cooperation under the 2026 theme: “Protecting Against Vulnerability; Building Trust and Legitimacy in Policing.” I speak today not only as the Director-General of Ghana’s Criminal Investigations Department, but also as a member of the INTERPOL Africa Committee. The nature of crime has changed dramatically.
2. Ghana has been a member of INTERPOL since 1958, and our INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Accra facilitates international police cooperation across the global law-enforcement network, and evidence of what such cooperation can achieve is clear. Ghana’s participation in Operation Contender 3.0, an INTERPOL-coordinated operation against romance scams and sextortion held in August 2025 simultaneously across 14 African countries led to the arrest of 68 suspects, seizure of 835 electronic devices and identification of 108 victims.
3. Investigations further established financial losses of approximately four hundred and fifty thousand United States Dollars (US$450,000), out of which about US$70,000 was recovered.
4. Again, Operation Sentinel, another INTERPOL-coordinated cybercrime operation held simultaneously across 19 African countries between October and November 2025 led to the identification of the ransomware strain used in the attack of a Ghanaian institution from which over $120,000 USD was stolen. The result was that, nearly 30 terabytes of data were recovered and the perpetrators were arrested. These are not abstract statistics.
5. They represent businesses protected, savings recovered, digital infrastructure secured and criminal networks disrupted. Behind these figures were real victims; people whose trust had been manipulated through fake identities, stolen photographs, fraudulent relationships and threats of exposure.
6. The outcome of these operations testify that international cooperation does not simply exchange information; but when properly used, information becomes intelligence; intelligence becomes action; and action can protect victims and recover their money. This year’s theme challenges us to look beyond financial losses to protecting the vulnerable.
7. In January 2026, collaboration with the Australian authorities led to the arrest of three suspects and, most importantly, the rescue of four Ghanaian children between six and thirteen years of age in the Ashanti and Bono Regions. What price do we place on restoring a child’s safety, dignity and future?
8. The value of rescuing a six-year-old child from exploitation is priceless. That is precisely why international police cooperation matters. We see the same principle in the fight against other transnational organized crimes like vehicle crimes and firearms smuggling.
9. Ladies and gentlemen, As criminal networks become more international, police cooperation must become more global; and as criminals attempt to exploit borders, law enforcement must continue to build bridges across them. On this International Day of Police Cooperation, therefore, Ghana’s message is clear: Our cooperation must not be limited by our borders.
10. The Ghana Police Service, through the Criminal Investigations Department and INTERPOL National Central Bureau Accra, remains committed to working with INTERPOL, our African partners and law-enforcement agencies across the world to protect victims, disrupt criminal networks, recover criminal assets, pursue fugitives and build safer communities. Because when police services cooperate, criminals lose the advantage of borders. When information is shared, victims have a greater chance of being found. When investigators work together, criminals have fewer places to hide.
11. And when policing is professional, accountable and trusted, our communities become stronger.
12. Happy International Day of Police Cooperation. May God bless the Ghana Police Service, may God strengthen law-enforcement cooperation across Africa and throughout the world, and may God bless our homeland Ghana.
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