Customs officials with the arrested culprits
Customs officials from the Ave-Havi Station under the Aflao Command of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have intercepted 600 bags (25kg) of Urea fertiliser meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
Three suspects, John Paul, alleged owner of the consignment, William Dosu, driver of the transporting vehicle with registration number GM 1195-14 and his mate, were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle the goods to neighbouring Togo.
The PFJ is a government programme aimed at promoting growth in food production and creating jobs across the country.
Mr Selassie Geraldo, a member of the Customs dispatch team that made the arrest on Monday, March 02, said the station had information that some people were smuggling PFJ fertilisers out of the country.
He said the officers quickly moved to arrest the suspects and the goods on an unapproved route after Ave-Atiglime in the Akatsi North District heading to Togo.
John Paul denied the claim of attempting to smuggle the fertilisers and said he was a farm input dealer and that he was bringing the goods from Nsawam, Eastern Region to his warehouse at Ave-Dakpa, Akatsi North for sale to farmers.
He said he got the fertilisers from one Sir Philip of PH investment at Nsawam and that there were two truckloads of the goods, the first (700 bags) which he earlier offloaded at his warehouse.
The suspect who insisted he had waybill covering the impounded goods appeared to have little knowledge of the modalities involved in distributing the fertilisers.
Per the modalities, fertiliser and seed distributors and retailers will require the services of Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) officials before distributing the PFJ labelled fertilisers to farmers, while Regional Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) will have to receive and examine waybills covering fertilisers that arrived in their jurisdictions.
Also, distributors and retailers in the various regions will have to liaise with recruited NABCO officials under the supervision of MMDCEs, to distribute fertilisers to the sale outlets with the NABCO officials placed at all retail outlets to supervise and record the quantities of fertilisers.
The new modalities replaced the coupon system to stop the smuggling of the heavily subsidised fertilisers into neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali.
Dr Prince Amuzu Sodoke, District Chief Executive for Akatsi North in an interview with Ghana News Agency, said he was not aware of any truckload of fertilisers coming to his District and so when he received intelligence on it, he asked that the supposed warehouse be locked.
He said as Chairman of the District Security Council, he was expected to prevent the border district from being used as conduit for the smuggling of goods especially PFJ fertilisers, which could negatively affect the agriculture dependent district.
Madam Sheila Avorgbedor, the Aflao Sector Commander, said the suspects would be arraigned before court for the determination of their innocence or otherwise.
She commended her officers for their commitment and dedication to duty, which made it possible to defy all odds to patrol unmanned and unapproved routes to arrest and deter potential smugglers.
