General News of Friday, 2 April 2004

Source: GNA

Cargo truck with uncustomed goods escapes

Koforidua, April 2, GNA- A cargo truck believed to be carrying uncustomed goods from a border town called Shia in the Volta Region to Kumasi, is reportedly missing from police custody.

The Eastern Regional Sector Commander of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Wilson Ankrah told newsmen at Koforidua on Thursday that he had information from the Regional Police Command that two trucks believed to be carrying goods without Custom inspection had been intercepted and brought to the police headquarters. He said he then detailed his men to go and bring the intercepted trucks to the yard of CEPS for inspection, but they were informed that one of the trucks was causing damage to electrical wires along the road so it had been parked at Nkubem, a suburb of Koforidua, near the Eastern Regional Administration, while the driver had been arrested by the police.

He said the other truck which was parked at the offices of the Police Command was then brought to the CEPS, while another group of officers were detailed to go and bring the other truck at Nkubem but on reaching there, the officials were informed that the truck, with registration number AS4206U and the driver were no where to be found.

Meanwhile, the owner of the truck in the CEPS yard containing cartons of tomato paste had presented a document indicating that he had paid 54 million cedis as custom duties and that CEPS was checking if that amount tallied with the goods on the truck.