Nine public officials, including five customs officers, have been arrested after authorities intercepted nearly 147 million undeclared Tramadol tablets concealed in a container at Tema Port, the Ghana Revenue Authority said.
Those detained include officers from the Customs Division, the Narcotics Control Commission, Port Security, the Energy Commission and the Ghana Standards Authority. All nine have been placed on police inquiry bail as investigations continue.
The seizure involved 299 cartons containing 146,932,000 tablets of Tramadol Hydrochloride in 250mg and 225mg doses, with a combined weight of 34,847.2 kilograms, according to customs officials. The consignment was discovered in a container identified as TGHU6228715, which had been cleared under a bill of entry and declared as carrying household items.
The shipment, which originated from the United Arab Emirates, was listed as containing water kettles, kitchen blenders, pressing irons, energy-saving bulbs and polypropylene materials. Acting on intelligence, Customs’ preventive unit detained the container on Feb. 26 and transferred it to a controlled area in Tema for further checks.
A joint re-examination by customs officers and the Central Revenue Monitoring Team on March 1 uncovered the concealed pharmaceuticals hidden among some of the declared goods, officials said. The importer and declarant have been handed over to police to assist with the probe. The seized drugs remain under customs control.
This comes after the authority intercepted 12 articulated trucks suspected to be involved in a transit diversion scheme last month, placing an estimated GH¢85 million in potential tax revenue at stake. The 12 trucks formed part of a larger consignment of 18 articulated vehicles that had been electronically gated out of the Customs system as goods in transit.
The arrest has drawn scrutiny to Ghana’s main seaport amid concerns over illicit pharmaceutical imports and their impact on public health and revenue collection.
