The Ghana Police Service has denied claims that its personnel were facilitating the smuggling of cocoa beans into neighbouring Togo through Missiga in the Pusiga District.
There was a scuffle at the Missiga Immigration checkpoint yesterday October 9, 2024 between personnel of the Ghana Police Service and Custom Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The scuffle reportedly broke out after some police officers attempted to prevent the Custom officers from inspecting consignment a truck was conveying to neighbouring Togo.
Personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces were called in to restore calm but the situation escalated resulting in gunshots that have left one injured.
The soldiers eventually managed to ease tensions and upon inspection of the consignment, found several bags of cocoa beans being smuggled to Togo.
But in a statement dated October 10, 2024, addressing the issue, the police refuted the assertion that its personnel were facilitating the smuggling of the goods.
It said its officers rather, based on intelligence, intercepted the smuggled goods and were escorting the vehicle to the Bawku Divisional Command for the goods to be handed over to COCOBOD “and the culprits investigated and prosecuted by the Police in line with established protocol with Ghana COCOBOD”.
“For the record, the police recently intercepted smuggled cocoa beans on two occasions within the region and the intercepted consignments were handed over to COCOBOD, while the suspects are currently being prosecuted by the police” .
It added, “It is, therefore, untrue that the police were in any way facilitating the smuggled consignments, as being claimed”.
The matter, the statement added, has since been resolved at national level by leadership of the 3 state security agencies – the Ghana Police, Custom Division and Ghana Armed Forces – while the regional security council is currently taking steps to “complement the efforts made at the national level”.
