The Ghana Cocoa Board Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Unit in collaboration with security agencies have arrested three persons for smuggling over 100 bags of cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire into Ghana.
The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa said the arrest was made in Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa West District after authorities intercepted a truck loaded with the cocoa.
“The operation led to the interception of a truck loaded with more than 100 bags of cocoa believed to have been smuggled from Côte d’Ivoire to Ghana,” he told journalists.
Joseph Addae Akwaboa revealed that the enforcement operation was conducted after he received alarming reports from cocoa farmers, traditional authorities and other stakeholders about smuggling and exploitation.
According to the Minister, cocoa farmers complained that some Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) have refused to buy cocoa beans from them despite receiving financial clearance from the government.
Rather, he said the LBCs were purchasing cheaper cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire and smuggle them to to Ghana.
He emphasized increased enforcement operations are planned to protect local farmers and maintain fairness in the cocoa market.
“In collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board anti-smuggling unit, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders, enforcement operations have been intensified across known hotspots in the Bono Region.”
