The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), last Monday night foiled an attempt by a cross-border drug cartel, to smuggle a consignment of marijuana from Ghana to Togo.
The four suspects, believed to be part of a gang that deals in narcotic drugs in the Aflao area in the Volta Region, were carrying the stuff on motorbikes.
They managed to flee the scene at Beat 11 along an unapproved stretch of the Aflao border, leaving behind 31 parcels of the dried leaves, suspected to be ‘wee’.
Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCI) in-charge of the Volta Region, Claver Nantuo, who disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in Ho on Friday, said that two of the suspects were Ghanaians while the other two were Togolese, and a manhunt was underway for the men.
According to DCI Nantuo, one of the suspects later returned to the scene to negotiate for the release of the parcels, and attempted to offer the GIS personnel GH₵3000 bribe, which they rejected.
He said, the GIS personnel called for reinforcement from their colleagues in Aflao who turned up at the spot; but the suspect sensed danger and fled.
DCI Nantuo said that the GIS personnel at the duty post that night became suspicious of the movement of two motor riders who had arrived there earlier to act as spies for the gang.
He said that soon after the two riders left, the four carriers of the contraband arrived at the frontier in an attempt to cross to the Togo side, prompting the GIS personnel to close in on them.
The smugglers swore at the GIS personnel and issued them with threats of death, but the officers prevented the gangsters from crossing the border.
The Regional GIS Commander said that although the suspects fled on motorbikes, the GIS personnel took note of the registration numbers of the bikes, and that was giving a leeway for the manhunt.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, HO
