The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handed over 18 truckloads of confiscated transit goods to the National School Feeding Programme after investigations uncovered an elaborate scheme to divert the cargo into Ghana’s local market through fraudulent customs declarations.
The donation, directed by the Ministry of Finance, follows months of investigations into the intercepted consignment, which was initially declared as goods transiting through Ghana from Togo to Niger.
Addressing a media briefing, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, said the investigation exposed widespread customs fraud, including under-declaration of goods, false documentation, tariff misclassification and suspected identity fraud involving the declared consignee.
The trucks were intercepted in February this year at the Kpone Barrier on the Tema Motorway by a joint team from the Customs Division of the GRA and National Security after intelligence suggested the cargo was being diverted into the Ghanaian market instead of continuing to Niger.
According to Mr Sarpong, investigators examined customs documentation, interviewed drivers, declarants, customs officers and other stakeholders, and collaborated with authorities in Togo and Niger to verify the legitimacy of the shipment.
The probe revealed that the cargo, comprising vegetable cooking oil and tomato-flavoured seasoning, originated from Malaysia and Indonesia before arriving at the Port of Lomé in Togo. Contrary to declarations made at Ghana’s Akanu Border Post, the original shipping documents showed the consignment was destined for two companies in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and not Niger.
Investigators also discovered that the transit declaration submitted in Ghana was supported by an invoice falsely claiming the goods had been purchased on the open market in Togo rather than the original shipping documents.
Physical inspection further exposed significant discrepancies, including an under-declaration of more than 4,000 jerrycans of vegetable cooking oil and the misrepresentation of tomato-flavoured seasoning as tomato paste.
The GRA said the cooking oil had also been deliberately classified under a lower-duty tariff code, reducing the customs bond and tax liabilities associated with the consignment.
Further checks with the Nigerien Chamber of Commerce failed to verify the Taxpayer Identification Number used in the documents, while the declared consignee could not be identified as a registered trader in Niger, raising suspicions of identity fraud.
Investigators also uncovered 44 previous transit declarations linked to the same consignee over the past two years, many of which reportedly exhibited similar documentation irregularities.
As part of disciplinary action, the GRA has interdicted four Customs officers connected to the processing of the consignment while internal investigations continue.
Mr Sarpong assured the public that the Authority had strengthened compliance measures and border surveillance to prevent similar fraudulent activities, safeguard government revenue and protect the integrity of Ghana’s customs system.
The confiscated goods will now be distributed under the National School Feeding Programme to support schoolchildren across the country instead of entering the local market through illegal means.
