The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it has enhanced compliance at the country’s borders to plug all smuggling-related revenue leakages.
The new measures form part of the reforms at the borders following an intelligence-led operation which arrested 18 trucks filled with cooking oil that attempted to outsmart the country’s revenue authority.
Following the bust in February 2026, the GRA’s investigation uncovered that for two years, a man named Adamou Moumouni appeared to be a prolific Nigerien businessman, moving dozens of shipments across West African borders with ease. However, after a high-stakes interception of 18 trucks at the Kpone barrier, the GRA uncovered that Moumouni doesn’t exist, and his “transit” empire was a sophisticated front for a massive regional smuggling syndicate.
The Phantom of the Akanu Border
At a briefing on Tuesday to announce the outcome of the investigations, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, revealed that the February 2026 bust began when a joint team of GRA and National Security officers flagged a convoy supposedly carrying transit cargo from Togo to Niger.
When investigators contacted the Nigerien Chamber of Commerce, the reality was chilling. The Chamber had no record of Adamou Moumouni, and his Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) was flagged for potential impersonation.
Far from being a legitimate businessman, Moumouni was a “ghost” used to shield the true players in a cross-border heist.
The Abidjan Detour
While the paperwork claimed the 18 trucks were headed north to Niger, the GRA’s deep-dive investigation into Togolese Customs records found that the cargo, originating in Malaysia and Indonesia, was actually consigned to companies in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The smugglers had bypassed the actual bill of lading, instead using falsified invoices to claim the goods were bought on the open market in Togo to evade international trade scrutiny
The Other Deception
The scale of the fraud was not limited to fake names and destinations; it extended to the very contents of the trucks. Physical examinations revealed that the Cooking Oil had a bonus. The Smugglers hid 4,010 undeclared jerrycans of vegetable oil within the shipment, bringing the total to 39,256 units
Moreover, there was another trick where a line item declared as “tomato paste” was actually tomato flavor seasoning, a blatant misdescription designed to slash the required bond value.
The group also used a fraudulent tariff code to apply a 20% duty instead of the correct 35%, significantly understating the guarantee value for the suspended taxes.
Unmasking a Serial Operation
Arguably, the most alarming discovery was that this wasn’t a one-time gamble. A review of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) unearthed 44 prior transit declarations linked to the phantom Moumouni over the last 24 months.
These shipments shared the same irregular exit patterns at the Kulungugu border, suggesting that the “Ghost of Kpone” had been successfully siphoning revenue for years.
Anthony Sarpong therefore announced that, based on the directives of the Minister for Finance, the confiscated items have been handed over to the National School Feeding Program to support the feeding of basic school students in the country.
The House Cleaning
The Commissioner-General was emphatic that the GRA is not just chasing ghosts; it is purging the operations at customs. Four customs officers have been interdicted and face internal disciplinary action for their roles in processing the fraudulent consignment.
In addition, he says further measures have been instituted to nip the canker in the bud.
“We wish to assure the trading public and the good people of Ghana that the GRA, through the Customs division, is always alert and has increased compliance, especially at our borders, for effective revenue mobilization and prevention of illicit trade,” the Commissioner-General indicated.
