The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has intercepted 119 bags filled with compressed dry material suspected to be Indian Hemp in Wute, near Akatsi, in the Volta Region.
The contraband was transported to an unknown location in a Ford Transit van and a truck that broke down on the road.
The sack of suspected narcotics was moved from the wrecked vehicle to a thatched house to hide it from the security forces in the area.
Sheets of suspected narcotics were wrapped in brown cello tape and plastic bags and hidden in a 100-kilogram sack that had been sewn to the side.
The exact number and weight of each sack or slab has not been established.
The van has since been impounded and the driver arrested.
The task force
Briefing journalists before handing over the bag to the Narcotics Control Commission in Accra on Thursday, the Acting Commissioner of the GRA Customs Division, Iddrisu Iddisah Seidu, said the arrest was made by the Eastern Corridor Monitoring Task Force of the responding division. problems about smuggling and
Cross-border crime along Ghana’s border with Togo.
He said based on intelligence, the team intercepted the van, carrying 26 sacks of dried leaves suspected to be Indian Hemp in Wute near Akatsi in the Volta Region.
The driver was arrested after he was in hot pursuit and his vehicle suffered a fault after hitting a hump in the road.
During the interrogation as part of the preliminary investigation, it was established that a larger truck was also carrying some contraband that was damaged in Avadre, near Ziope.
When the team reached the point where the bigger truck had broken down, the occupants of the van allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene.
It was discovered that the sack was moved to a nearby house to hide it from the security agencies.
The team took the sack and transferred it to the state warehouse.
Then, a joint team of personnel from the Customs, Narcotics Control Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, National Security, Defense Intelligence and the Food and Drug Authority conducted an examination of the suspected substance.
Mr. Seidu said the suspect has been handed over to the police but another suspect is currently on the run and is being chased by the police.
He said the truck drivers were carrying out criminal activities on the blind side of the truck owners.
Therefore, he called on the owners of vehicles to keep track of what their vehicles are used for because according to the law, vehicles used for such activities are impounded.
Mr. Seidu warned drug traffickers and those involved in other border crimes to desist from their activities as border security officials are vigilant and will arrest and ensure the criminals are brought to book.
The head of the Eastern Corridor Monitoring Task Force, Revenue Officer, Abdullah Dari, said that those involved in these activities are “criminals and saboteurs of the national economy”.
He said the activity has national security implications because criminals such as robbers abuse the drugs and “get high and shoot and torture their victims.”
It also has health implications because users end up in mental hospitals “and we spend state revenue on treatment and health costs”.
Mr. Dari said that those involved in the drug trade “see it as a profitable business and may not want to stop, but all citizens must play their role openly to ensure sanity.”
Source: graphic.com.gh
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