Four individuals, including a driver and his assistants, are currently in police custody following their alleged involvement in a cocoa smuggling operation in Kwahu Nketepa, located in the Afram Plains South District of the Eastern Region.
The arrests were made by the National Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Task Force with assistance from the Nketepa community watchdog committee, leading to the seizure of two Kia trucks loaded with 400 bags of cocoa that were set to be smuggled into Togo.
The suspects, who were in the process of offloading the cocoa bags onto a waiting canoe for further transportation, attempted to flee upon noticing the approaching task force team but were swiftly apprehended after a brief chase.
In a media briefing, Bosu Yaw, the Assembly Member for the Nketepa electoral area, called for increased support for the community watchdog committee to strengthen their surveillance efforts.
“We received a tip-off that truckloads of goods were being brought to Nketepa, and we suspected the government was unaware of what was being brought into the community. When these trucks arrive, they park by the seaside and unload sacks of cocoa onto boats, sometimes three or more at a time, before transporting them away. We intercepted one of these trucks and found it loaded with cocoa. The manner in which they were going about it raised our suspicions that it was smuggling, so we immediately alerted our leaders,” he said.
Anthony Ablor, the leader of the Nketepa watchdog committee, emphasized the challenges faced by the group, citing the constant threat of armed robbers and smugglers in the area. He reiterated the need for greater collaboration with security agencies to protect their community.
“As part of our duties as a watchdog committee, we regularly face threats from armed robbers. We urgently appeal to the government to provide us with motorbikes to help us carry out our responsibilities more effectively in protecting the community,” he stated.
Between May and June 2024, the National Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce’s intensified surveillance efforts led to the arrest of over 20 individuals and the confiscation of thousands of cocoa bags in the Kwahu enclave, which were being smuggled into neighboring Togo.
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