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Customs Division busts illicit drug syndicate
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The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, in collaboration with other security agencies, has intercepted a cache of substances suspected to be illicit drugs from an alleged Nigerian drug syndicate at Kpoglo near Aflao in the Volta Region on Friday.
The team also seized from the syndicate an amount of US$200, 000 comprising 1,946 and 108 pieces of 100 and 50 dollar notes respectively.
The substances now in the custody of the security agencies are six parcels labelled Fatal (767.3g), 45 white pebbles (3,097.1g), 40 blisters of 10 tabs 225mg of tramadol tablets (353.5g), and three cans labelled ‘Praise palm cream’ (2,265.7g) with brown substance sealed in them.
The rest are eight parcels wrapped in brown cellotape (7,743.1g), four parcels wrapped in black polythene (5,079.2g) and 51 parcels wrapped in transparent polythene (5,045g).
Also retrieved from the group is two Nigerian passports with the names Orhoser Endurance and OsibokOcuko Gabriel, First Bank ATM card, an Ecobank cheque booklet, a driver’s license with the name Aminu Saliu Sholadoye.
Commissioner of Customs, Colonel (Rtd)Kwadwo Damoah, briefing the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday said that from their preliminary investigations, “these are substances that could qualify for any of the narcotic drugs. They might be in the high value category of drugs”.
Asked where the suspects who were on board the Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number LSR815 FV which was being used to ferry the substances were, Col (Rtd) Damoah said nobody was arrested in the operation.
“The vehicle pulled up with only the driver but unfortunately, when the officers were busy looking at the items, he (the driver) managed to abscond. They(officers) were interested more in the item and he took advantage and before they could say jack, he had absconded.”
Col (Rtd) explained that the car was being used as a cargo to outsmart the security as cargos were permitted entry into the country despite the closure of the borders as part of measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
“So the items were concealed under the fuel compartment with spare parts in the vehicle,” he revealed.
Describing the operation as a “major” one, Col (Rtd) Damoah commended the security agencies for the collaboration and hinted that a manhunt would be launched for the driver and his possible accomplices.
“This shows that with collective efforts, we can manage our borders better. This is a major success as far as our efforts are concerned and we commend all the agencies who were part of this operation.”
Other agencies involved were the Ghana Immigration and Police Service, Defence Intelligence and the Bureau of National Investigations.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
President John Dramani Mahama will be joining African heads of state, business leaders, investors and innovators shaping Africa’s next chapter, at the inaugural Alamein Africa Forum scheduled to take place from 2nd to 4th October 2026 in the historic city of Alamein on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
The three-day Alamein Africa Forum is established as a permanent African Business Forum to convene biennially in Egypt.
It is to become the continent’s premier gathering where political power meets entrepreneurial prowess, bridging the established engines of African growth with the new sectors defining its future.
Co-organised by the Government of Egypt, African Export – Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union and AUDA-NEPAD, it is expected to bring together more than twenty (20) heads of state and government representatives alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions.
Ghana’s President, who on 23rd September 2026 declared Ghana is open for business in New York after ringing the ceremonial closing bell at the Nasdaq Stock Market will be leading the Ghanaian delegation, to include the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu – Adjare, to the forum.
Other members of the Ghanaian delegation are the Head and Presidential Advisor for Ghana’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, Hon. Augustus Goosie Tanoh, Ghana’s Special Envoy to the Alliance of Sahel States, Colonel Larry Gbevlo – Lartey alongside key Ghanaian private sector players.
Bringing together leaders in politics, business and policy from across the continent, the Alamein Africa Forum will provide a unique opportunity to shape Africa’s growth agenda by aligning policy and investment priorities, mobilising partnerships for implementation and strengthening financing and investment pathways.
The private sector must become an integral part of Agenda 2063, the African Union’s strategic fifty-year masterplan to transform the continent. The private sector is the core economic engine required to turn the African 2063 from an aspirational government roadmap into realized infrastructure, jobs, and value-added trade.
By Chris KONEY
News
Contractors move to site to begin construction of 120-Bed Trauma Hospital at Bole – Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has revealed that contractors have moved to site to begin construction of a 120-bed Specialised Trauma and Emergency Hospital at Bole in the Savannah Region.
According to the Minister, the 16,000 square metre facility will be equipped with modern medical infrastructure to provide emergency and trauma care.
The hospital will have a 24-hour Accident and Emergency Unit, trauma resuscitation bays, emergency operating theatres, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and a High Dependency Unit (HDU).
It will also include specialised trauma wards, a burns treatment unit, orthopaedic and surgical units, as well as imaging and diagnostic facilities, among others.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
