A driver, operating a Toyota Hiace Van belonging to the Anlo Traditional Council, has been arrested by the police for transporting bags of smuggled cocoa beans.

Abraham Senyaglo, a native of Keta in the Anlo Municipality, was apprehended on Saturday night with 26 bags of smuggled cocoa beans packed in fertilizer sacks on the Adomi-Atimpoku stretch.

The suspect, who was said to have been returning from an errand at Manhyia after delivering some items donated by the Anlo Traditional Council to the Asantehene, was reportedly chased and arrested after failing to stop upon a signal by police around the Adomi Bridge in the Eastern Region.

According to him, he was sent to the Manhyia Palace by Chiefs and Elders of the Anlo State to present some items to the Asantehene as part of his 25th Anniversary Celebrations. On his return, a friend beseeched his help to transport the cocoa beans from Suhum to Dodze.

Having been convinced by the friend that it was a genuine business they had been routinely doing, he agreed to transport the cocoa beans, only to find out later that they were acquired illegally.

On why he failed to stop when directed by the Police on duty to do so, which resulted in the chase leading to his arrest, the suspect explained that he did not receive the police signal to stop, even though the account by the security personnel is to the contrary.

Meanwhile, the suspect and the seized goods are currently in the custody of the Sogakope Police awaiting investigations and subsequent prosecution.

The onslaught against the illegal activities of cocoa smuggling by the Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce has in recent times witnessed positive results, with several convictions being recorded over the last two months.