At Kumasi, customs officers discover a container of unreported commodities

The owner of a container carrying goods was found to have neglected to pay tax on five motorbikes and a vehicle, so customs authorities in the Ashanti Region stopped the shipment.

Adiembra, a neighbourhood of Kumasi in the Ashanti region, is where the commodities were intercepted, according to Alfred Agyemang Badu, the officer in charge of preventive at the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The investigation section of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has been tasked with looking into the situation, he said.

After the investigations are over, according to Alfred Agyemang Badu, the owner of the items would pay the duty on the products along with an extra 300% penalty.

According to Mr. Badu, who spoke with the media, “We obtained intelligence on Friday that there was a container at Adiembra, Kumasi, where commodities were being dumped. The items may have been in possession of them without duty having been paid. I thus contacted my commander as soon as I learned of the situation, and he gave me the go-ahead to organise soldiers to arrive at the location. That was done swiftly, and our police headed over to the incident. The container was placed onto a truck, and lo and behold, they discovered it. The individuals obeyed our request to have them transport the container to our yard. Following their request to unload the cargo, we looked around and discovered five motorcycles and unregistered automobiles.

“We immediately notified the sector commander, who directed that the products be held in limbo until more research was done. The investigating agency will handle things from there when we pass the documents over to them, he said.

After accusing customs inspectors of harassing their members in the Ashanti Region, the Importers and Exporters Association leadership detained the items a few days later.