ACCRA: A scandal involving the clearance of some items suspected to be cocaine and concealed in a consignment of sugar worth $3 million has rocked the Port of Tema and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The complex web of conspiracy allegedly involves top officials of Customs and Tema Port officials.
The 136,000 bags of sugar, which had overstayed their two-week grace period at the port, were eventually confiscated – a development which paved the way for some officials to connive to have it diverted for individual gains.
Yaya Kachie, the consignee of the sugar in transit, must count himself lucky, having succeeded in clearing the contraband stuff but abandoned the sugar destined for Niger and originating from Mexico.
It has also emerged that details of only 16,000 bags of sugar were fed into the GCNet system, a situation which facilitated the ploy of the brains behind the aborted efforts to divert the confiscated consignment.
Yaya Kachie’s primary objective was the smuggling of the drug and once achieved, he abandoned the sugar as it was of insignificant importance to him.
Fingered in the scandal are customs officials, one of them a Commissioner and Sector Commander, and data entry clerks who made the entry into the GCNet system.
The investigation team probing the issue is said to be baffled about how transit goods could remain at Tema for over a year, beyond the two-week grace period, and discharged here anyway.
Regarding the suspected contraband stuff contained in the transit goods, the shipping agency (name withheld) may face the law when the investigations are completed.
