The North East Regional Police Command has arrested four people and intercepted 118 bags of cocoa beans weighing 11,800 kilogrammes at Bunkpurugu, allegedly en route to neighbouring Togo.
The suspects are 35-year-old Dickson Asante, the driver of the truck; 19-year-old Gideon Tab, his mate; 22-year-old Mohammed Mumin; and 23-year-old Ernestina Akugre, who claims ownership of the 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 transporting plantain and cocoa under suspicious circumstances towards the Bunkpurugu-Togo border.
Acting on the information, a Police patrol team intercepted the vehicle at the Bunkpurugu Police Snap Check Point and arrested the four suspects.
A joint security team comprising personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Defence Intelligence, the GRA Customs Division and National Security subsequently searched the vehicle at the Customs Office.
The search, according to the Police, revealed that the plantain had allegedly been loaded onto the truck as a decoy to conceal the cocoa beans.
The 118 bags of cocoa, weighing a total of 11,800 kilogrammes, were intercepted before they could be transported across the border into Togo.
The four suspects are currently in Police custody assisting with investigations.
The Police said the suspects will be put before court to face the full rigours of the law.
Credit: Citi Newsroom