The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has interdicted four of its customs officers following an investigation into an audacious attempt to illegally divert an 18-truck convoy of transit cargo into the local market.
The decisive action is part of a sweeping internal crackdown aimed at rooting out institutional complicity, tightening border enforcement, and protecting the state from massive tax evasion.
The interdictions stem from a high-stakes interception in February 2026, when customs officials halted the fleet of commercial trucks. The shipment had been officially declared as transit cargo originating from neighboring Togo and bound for Niger via the Akanu border. However, investigative authorities suspected that the shipment was being actively diverted into the local market to evade substantial state import duties and taxes.
Addressing journalists at a media briefing on Tuesday, July 7, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Anthony Sarpong, revealed the initial findings of the probe and confirmed that internal sanctions had commenced.
“We have interdicted four officers who worked on the consignment, and we are going through our internal disciplinary processes to ensure that all officers found culpable are dealt with in accordance with our internal policies and the law,” Mr. Sarpong stated.
The Commissioner-General emphasized that the GRA would not shield any personnel whose actions compromised the state’s economic interests.
In a swift directive from the Ministry of Finance, the intercepted goods from all 18 trucks have been officially confiscated and reallocated to support the National School Feeding Programme.
Mr. Sarpong assured the public and the legitimate trading community that the GRA’s Customs Division has significantly stepped up its border surveillance and compliance measures. He noted that cargo monitoring mechanisms have been tightened across major entry and exit points to ensure strict adherence to international transit regulations and to completely plug revenue leakages.
Investigations into the cartels and logistics networks behind the attempted diversion are reportedly ongoing.
