The agency identified Adelaquaye as the individual “who was responsible for security at the international airport in Ghana.”
Ghana’s narcotics bureau said Adelaquaye was the managing director of a private firm called Sohin Security, which has security contracts at airports across the country.
Those contracts have been “suspended with immediate effect,” the bureau said.
Documents filed to a federal court in New York, where the group has been charged, said the heroin came from Afghanistan, which had been brought to Ghana by Pinedo-Rueda.
Analysts say Ghana, a nation of some 25 million people, is an emerging trafficking hub for South American and Asian narcotics destined for sale in the US and Europe.
Transportation infrastructure is advanced compared to other countries in west Africa, but corruption among customs and port officials remains rampant, according to analysts.