The Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service (GPS), the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), and other agencies, has successfully intercepted three trailer trucks loaded with 1,473 maxi bags (approximately 2,500 individual bags) of smuggled cocoa beans in Sunyani.
This interception marks a significant win in the ongoing battle against the illegal cocoa trade.
Speaking during a media briefing, Michael Paddy Kwesi Asumanu, Regional Administrator for COCOBOD in Bono, Ahafo, and Bono East, expressed growing concern over the increasing rate of cocoa smuggling.
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The trucks, which had been transporting cocoa beans from the Nkrankwanta and Dormaa Ahenkro areas, were intercepted following a tip-off.
“Upon offloading the cargo, we noticed the cocoa beans were not packed in the standard 64-kilo jute sacks but in larger maxi-bags, which can hold over 80 kilos. In total, we have seized 1,473 maxi-bags, which, if repackaged into the usual 64-kilo bags, would amount to more than 2,000 bags of cocoa,” Asumanu explained.
The three trucks with registration numbers GR 7237-21, GR 314-24, and AS 5278-23 were found concealing the cocoa beans under a load of lumber.
The first truck was intercepted in Dormaa Ahenkro, while the other two were stopped in Nkrankwanta, all within the Dormaa West District, based on intelligence from a tip-off. One driver was arrested, while the others managed to escape.
Asumanu expressed deep concern over the rising trend of cocoa smuggling, emphasising its detrimental effects on the local cocoa industry and the national economy.
“Cocoa is the backbone of Ghana’s economy. Anyone caught smuggling cocoa out of the country is acting against the national interest and is, in essence, a nation-wrecker,” he stated.
He speculated that the smuggled beans were likely bound for neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso and Togo, where price disparities make illegal trade more lucrative.
Asumanu urged the public to report any cocoa smugglers and called for stricter penalties for offenders, arguing that the current five-year prison sentence is insufficient as a deterrent.
The ungraded and unsealed cocoa beans have been transferred to COCOBOD’s storage facility in Kumasi for further action.
Reporting by Daniel Donkor in the Bono Region
