THE Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has, within three months, retrieved ?485.2 million being duties and penalties from owners of 18 uncustomed vehicles.

The money also represents penalties for using false registration numbers between May 1 and August 31 this year. Mr Robert Mensah of the Public Relations Department of the CEPS disclosed this in an interview in Accra yesterday. He explained that a total of 48 vehicles, mostly saloon cars, were impounded during the period.

According to him, of the total number, 26 of the culprits are yet to pay their duties and fines. Two others, he stated, were released after they had been cleared. The other cases, he said, have been referred to the National Security Secretariat for more thorough investigation.

Giving the breakdown of the impounded vehicles, Mr Mensah stated that in May this year, an amount of ?104.6 million was retrieved from the culprits, while ?65.4 million was recovered from culprits in June, this year.

He said that for the months of July and August this year, ?192.3 million and ?122.9 million were respectively retrieved.

Mr Mensah advised prospective car owners to contact any of the CEPS offices with the particulars of their vehicles for examination and approval before payment is made. He also advised businessmen and women to desist from smuggling, pointing out that it affects the country’s economic development.