AFLAO COMMAND OF GRA INTERCEPTS 28 MAXI BAGS OF SUSPECTED INDIAN HEMP SUBSTANCES

The Aflao Sector Command of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has intercepted twenty-eight (28) maxi bags of 1,964 small parcels of compressed and wrapped substances suspected to be Indian hemp at Alorkpa in the Akatsi South District of the Volta Region. The interception which was done during the early hours of Sunday, 9th February, 2020, also led to the arrest of a 43-year old driver around the vicinity of the abandoned vehicle used for carrying the booty.

The interception of the substances as well as the 19-seater Sprinter Mercedes Benz bus with registration number GS-2744-17 was done in a two-hour operation between 12 midnight and 2am on that Sunday.

The five-member Task Force was initially targeting the vehicle which was suspected to be uncustommed only for the Customs Officials to discover that something else was amidst. A hot chase of the vehicle and its two occupants led to the abandonment of the bus containing the booty in the bush at Alorkpa with one of the occupants still at large.

The vehicle was subsequently towed to the Command Office at Aflao where the 28 sacks totally weighing 1,037 kilograms of the compressed substances, were discovered upon full examination of the bus and its contents. Each of the sacks contained between 6 and 94 small parcels of the substances neatly and tightly wrapped. It is believed that the booty was going to head to neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin through the country’s porous borderline along the eastern frontier.

An Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO) of the Aflao Collection, Mr. Armstrong K, Anane led the Special Task Force to intercept the goods. Confirming the arrest in a media briefing at Aflao, Mr. Anane disclosed that the driver of the vehicle ignored signals for him to stop at Mafi Kumase, a situation which compelled the Task Force to give them what he described as a dog a chase, leading to the interception and the subsequent apprehension of the suspect, Samuel Gameli, a native from Akatsi in the Akatsi South District. 

The Deputy Sector Commander in-charge of the Collection, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Majeed Amandi noted that apart from the threats from the locals regarding such operations within the command and the eastern border frontier, officers also face logistical challenges in the discharge of their duties. These challenges, he said include inadequate vehicles, bullet proof jackets as well as communication gadgets. ‘I only regret the fact that we don’t have enough protective kits for our officers such as bullet proof jackets; the few we have is what the boys use into the bush; it is very scaring and risky’, Mr. Amandi emphasized.

The Deputy Commander gave the assurance that such threats would not deter the Command from carrying out its legitimate duties and responsibilities to the state, adding that the officers can do a lot more when given the needed logistical support.

The suspect, Samuel Gameli together with the impounded substances, have since been handed over to the Narcotics Control Board (NARCOB) officials at Aflao for further investigations and action.  

This is not the first time the Customs Division of the GRA at Aflao have impounded such a vehicle or intercepted substances suspected to be Indian hemp. This has been done in the past with the latest one being one of the major interceptions recorded during the first quarter of the year 2020.

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