Police intercept 11.8 tonnes of cocoa hidden beneath plantain in Bunkpurugu smuggling bust

A joint security operation in Ghana’s North East Region has intercepted 118 bags of cocoa beans destined for neighbouring Togo, arresting four suspects in a sophisticated smuggling attempt that saw the contraband concealed beneath a shipment of plantains.

The 11,800-kilogramme consignment was intercepted on Sunday, August 9, 2026, at the Bunkpurugu Police Snap Check Point following intelligence received by the North East Regional Police Command.

The decoy operation

Security agencies received information that a Hyundai Rhino truck with registration number AS-3272-25 was transporting plantain and cocoa under suspicious circumstances towards the Togo border. Acting on the tip, a police patrol team intercepted the vehicle. A subsequent search at the Customs Office by a joint team comprising the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Defence Intelligence, GRA Customs Division and National Security uncovered the concealed cocoa.

“The search revealed that the plantain was being used as a decoy to conceal the cocoa beans,” the Ghana Police Service stated.

The suspects

Police have identified the four suspects as Dickson Asante, 35, the driver of the truck; Gideon Tab, 19, his mate; Mohammed Mumin, 22; and Ernestina Akugre, 23, who claimed ownership of the consignment. All four remain in police custody assisting with investigations and will be arraigned before court.

A billion-dollar drain

The interception highlights the persistent challenge of cocoa smuggling that has cost Ghana dearly. Between 2022 and 2025, Ghana lost an estimated US$1.1 billion through cocoa smuggling to neighbouring Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. In the Volta and Oti regions alone, Ghana lost 7,128.13 tonnes of cocoa to smuggling between the 2020 and 2025 crop years.

COCOBOD Director of Special Services, Jake Kudjo Samahar, has linked security personnel at checkpoints to the growing smuggling trade, stating: “This means that the security services are not manning their checkpoints. Some of them have compromised themselves very much”.

Stiffer penalties on the horizon

In response to the escalating crisis, COCOBOD has proposed a new bill currently before Cabinet that would impose a 10-year jail term, fines of up to 200,000 penalty units, or both, for individuals convicted of cocoa smuggling. Under the proposal, smuggled cocoa would be confiscated and offenders would also be required to pay a fine of up to five times the value of the seized cocoa. The bill also proposes the establishment of a special cocoa tribunal to prosecute smuggling offences.

The four suspects arrested at Bunkpurugu will be the latest to test the current legal framework, as authorities continue their crackdown on the illicit trade that has drained billions from Ghana’s economy and undermined the livelihoods of legitimate cocoa farmers.