A briefcase holding 80 million CFA (GH1.5 million) was seized by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) along the Ghana-Togo border at Aflao. This suitcase was determined to contain counterfeit currency.
A genuine 843,000 CFA and 110,500 Naira were also found in the aforementioned briefcase, according to the Acting Commissioner of Customs, Seidu Iddrisu Iddisah.
When describing the event to the B&FT in Accra yesterday, Commissioner Iddisah stated that two of the perpetrators were stopped on a motorbike by customs officers on an illegal route intended only for locals of that area of Aflao.
He disclosed that the main suspect who was in possession of the luggage is a Nigerian citizen. “He is a 57-year-old man and his name is Arimo Timothy Adigbo, with a Nigerian passport in his possession,” the Customs chief noted.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at Aflao, and according to the Customs Division, the case has been handed over to the Customs investigation department for further interrogation. “Upon receiving the news, I ordered that the suspect be brought to Accra to enable us to carry out a detailed investigation into the matter,” Iddisah disclosed.
The need to do further checks from Togo
Commissioner Iddisah explained that the case will be fully handled by the Customs Division in Accra, which only makes contacts in Togo if the need arises.
“The understanding is that the suspects were arrested in Ghana’s territory and not in Togolese territory. The crime was carried out in Ghana, and that informed our decision to pursue the case at the Customs headquarters. If we have to contact Nigerian Customs during the investigation, we will do that. We have that collaboration in place,” he said.
But for the arrest, Commissioner Iddisah said, the culprit would have changed the monies into dollars and Naira and gone back to his country, leaving behind fake currencies circulating in both Ghana and Togo.
This, he said, may not only lead to losing foreign exchange but has other criminal implications as well. “The first law in breach is lack of declaring of goods per the laws of Customs, and the fact that the suspect was plying an unapproved route with such contents in the briefcase are all criminal,” Commissioner Iddisah emphasised.