By Philip Antoh
Ghana’s Customs Division has seized a large consignment of suspected cannabis with an estimated street value of 11.2 million cedis ($1 million) near the border town of Aflao, the agency said.
The Preventive Monitoring Unit carried out the operation at Torve, near Akatsi in the Volta Region, at 9:35 p.m. on Oct. 15 following intelligence on a suspicious black Lexus vehicle believed to be transporting illicit substances, the Aflao Sector Command said in a statement.
The driver attempted to flee but abandoned the vehicle after a mechanical fault. A search revealed 1,065 compressed parcels of suspected cannabis weighing 560.4 kilograms.
A Ghana Card bearing the name Kunuhor Gidsway was retrieved from the vehicle, which carried falsified registration plates.
The seizure was jointly examined and authenticated by officers from the National Intelligence Bureau, Defence Intelligence, the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the Food and Drugs Authority and National Security.
The items have been documented and secured for laboratory confirmation and evidential purposes. Customs has handed over the consignment and vehicle to NACOC for further investigation.
Customs recommended tracing and apprehending the suspect who fled, verifying the Ghana Card with the National Identification Authority, laboratory testing of the substances, and strengthening intelligence networks to disrupt future trafficking attempts.
Emmanuel Reginald Duh, Sector Commander for Aflao Collection, described the seizure as a “significant disruption to the illegal drug trade in the region,” underscoring the Customs Division’s commitment to safeguarding Ghana’s borders against contraband. (Reporting by Philip Antoh; Editing by New Republic)
