The Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), in collaboration with national security, has arrested a driver and his assistant in Old Akrade, Asuogyaman District, for attempting to smuggle cocoa beans.
A national security source revealed to the Ghana News Agency that the taskforce received a tip-off around midnight about a group transporting cocoa beans to Togo. Acting on this information, the taskforce conducted surveillance and intercepted a tipper truck, with registration number GN-1773-24, carrying 100 bags of cocoa beans hidden beneath a load of chippings.
The operation is part of the government’s intensified efforts to combat the increasing cocoa smuggling activities in Ghana. Authorities are determined to protect the country’s cocoa industry and prevent the illegal export of beans to neighboring Togo.
The security source suggested that due to the heavy presence of military and immigration officials at toll booths along the Adomi Bridge, the smugglers likely used a ferry at Senchi to cross the Volta Lake and head through Juapong toward their destination.
Ghana’s cocoa industry is currently grappling with several challenges, including rampant smuggling, climate change, disease, and illegal mining. Experts note that cocoa is more profitable in Ivory Coast and Togo, where the sector is less regulated and benefits from the more stable CFA franc currency.
By the end of June, Ghana’s cocoa production stood at 429,323 metric tons, a figure representing less than 55% of the average output at this time in previous years. According to the anti-smuggling taskforce, cocoa losses from smuggling have more than tripled in the 2023/24 season, with an estimated 160,000 tons lost.
Despite these challenges, the taskforce’s efforts have made some progress, managing to intercept about 250 tons of smuggled cocoa in 2023/24, compared to just 17 tons the previous season.