Customs officer in trouble for escorting smugglers

Charles Owusu Nkansah, a Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) officer at Aflao, was on Sunday arrested by the Aflao Police for escorting a Mazda Mini-Bus loaded with 19 packages of goods suspected to have been smuggled from Togo into Ghana.

He has been placed in custody together with Charlotte Agbolosu, 30, Veronica Amuzu, 22 and Gbeda Kwasi 37, all traders from Viepe, near Aflao, who were on the bus and claimed ownership of the goods.

Also detained were Affizi Mawukwenya, 23, the driver of the bus with registration number AS 2638 R and Dormekpor Dagadu, 37, a carrier, who was also on the bus.

The Police could not immediately assess the cost of the goods, which included wax prints, ladies dresses and basin materials but said they were worth millions of cedis.

A Ghana News Agency item reports Chief Inspector Frimpong Manso, in-charge of the Aflao Police Station as saying that his men on night patrol on Sunday night spotted a BMW Saloon car, No GW 8188 P, at about 5am, which was followed by a minibus at Akporkploe, a border village near Aflao.

He said the two vehicles ignored Police orders to halt and instead, sped off but the Police gave them a chase up to Wudoaba, a village along the Aflao-Ho trunk road where they were intercepted.

Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah, who was driving the BMW told the Police initially that he had intercepted the bus on suspicion of carrying smuggled goods and was escorting it together with the owners of the good to the CEPS, at Aflao.

He said Nkansah, who was not in uniform, could, however, not explain why he was leading them in a different direction from Aflao and why he refused to stop when flagged.

Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah, who said he had to fire eight shots before he could arrest them, also failed to produce the gun.

He said Nkansah later confessed that he had bargained with the smugglers for five million cedis and pleaded for leniency. Both vehicles and goods are in the custody of the Police while investigations continued.

Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah and the other suspects including Charlotte Agbolosu, who has been identified as the wife of a CEPS official at Aflao, would be brought before court soon.