The North East Regional Police Command has arrested four people and intercepted 118 bags of cocoa beans weighing 11,800 kilogrammes at Bunkpurugu in the North East Region.
The cocoa consignment was allegedly being transported towards the Bunkpurugu-Togo border when the vehicle carrying the produce was intercepted by the Police.
The four suspects have been identified as 35-year-old Dickson Asante, the driver of the truck; 19-year-old Gideon Tab, the mate; 22-year-old Mohammed Mumin; and 23-year-old Ernestina Akugre, who claims ownership of the cocoa consignment.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, August 11, the Police said the interception followed intelligence received on Sunday, August 9, about a Hyundai Rhino truck with registration number AS-3272-25.
According to the Police, the vehicle was transporting plantain and cocoa under suspicious circumstances towards the Bunkpurugu-Togo border.
Acting on the intelligence, a Police patrol team intercepted the truck at the Bunkpurugu Police Snap Check Point and arrested the four occupants.
A joint security team subsequently searched the vehicle at the Customs Office.
The team comprised personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Defence Intelligence, the GRA Customs Division and National Security.
The Police said the search uncovered what appeared to be an attempt to conceal the cocoa beans under plantain.
According to investigators, the plantain had allegedly been loaded onto the truck as a decoy to conceal the cocoa beans.
The search led to the discovery of 118 bags of cocoa beans, with a combined weight of 11,800 kilogrammes, equivalent to 11.8 tonnes.
The consignment was intercepted before it could allegedly be transported across Ghana’s border into neighbouring Togo.
The four suspects are currently in Police custody and are assisting investigators with inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the transportation of the cocoa.
The Police have not disclosed whether the cocoa was obtained through illegal means or whether the suspects had the required documentation for transporting the consignment.
Investigations are ongoing to establish the source and intended destination of the cocoa, as well as the circumstances under which it was being transported towards the Togo border.
The Police said the suspects will subsequently be put before court to face the full rigours of the law.
The interception forms part of ongoing security efforts to monitor the movement of cocoa and other commodities along Ghana’s borders.
