In an effort to clamp down on illegal activities and protect Ghana’s cocoa industry, the police in Sefwi Adjoafua, in the Bia West District of the Western North Region, have seized 800 bags of cocoa being smuggled to Ivory Coast.
The bags of cocoa, impounded by the law enforcement agency on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, were loaded in an articulated truck with the registration number AS 3984-12.
The interception follows a tip-off from intelligence officers of the Ghana Cocoa Board.
The police quickly mobilized and established a roadblock on a major route frequently used by the smugglers. Upon inspecting the truck, they uncovered a large shipment of cocoa bags.
Major Rtd Ebenezer Tetteh, an intelligence officer at the Ghana Cocoa Board, Bia West, revealed that preliminary investigations indicated that the cocoa, valued at several million Ghanaian cedis, was intended for illegal export.
Cocoa prices are higher in neighbouring countries, which serves as an incentive for smuggling.
According to him, the team will continue to explore effective mechanisms to apprehend perpetrators and bring them to book.
Meanwhile, the suspects involved in the smuggling attempt are currently in custody and assisting with further investigations.
Smuggling of cocoa across the Ghana-Ivory Coast border has been a persistent issue over the years in the Western North Region, Eastern Region and others.
This was after the National Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Task Force of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) confiscated 634 bags of cocoa beans being smuggled out of Ghana in the same region.
According to COCOBOD, the operation took place over a month of sustained intelligence-led efforts.
It adds up to several smuggling cases.
On April 15, a truck carrying 504 bags of cocoa beans hidden in poultry feed products was seized, and another 130 bags of cocoa beans concealed under gravel in a tipper truck were confiscated on May 7 in Mpraeso, Kwahu South Municipality.