Nat’l Tymes News Desk
THE GHANA Revenue Authority (GRA) has stopped a large shipment of illegal drugs at the Tema Port.
Customs officers discovered a container that had been wrongly declared as carrying household items.
Instead of items such as kettles, blenders and irons, the container was filled with undeclared Tramadol tablets. Officials found 299 cartons containing about 146.9 million Tramadol tablets of 250mg and 225mg. The drugs weighed about 34,847 kilograms.
Nine public officers have been arrested for allegedly helping with the illegal import. They include five Customs officers, one officer from the Narcotics Control Commission, one port security officer, one officer from the Energy Commission and one officer from the Ghana Standards Authority.
The operation followed intelligence gathered by GRA’s preventive team, which led officers to inspect a container identified as TGHU6228715. The container had been declared as carrying water kettles, kitchen blenders, irons, energy-saving bulbs and polypropylene materials.
The drugs have been seized and are currently under Customs control while police continue their investigations. The interception is seen as an important step in the fight against illegal drug trafficking, helping to protect public health and prevent revenue loss through smuggling.
The GRA says it will continue to enforce customs laws and stop illegal trade to help keep Ghana safe.
Source: Nationaltymes.com
