The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has dismissed 10 loading boys for willfully putting parcels of Indian hemp (also known as marijuana or ganja) on board some buses at the Bolgatanga Main Lorry Park.

The boys, said to be of indeterminate ages, were sacked after they were found guilty of conniving with some narcotics dealers to convey the illicit items from the Upper East region to the southern area of the country. One of the loading boys, who managed to escape arrest, is still at large.

The Upper East Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Godfred A. Abulbire, who disclosed this during a regional executive council meeting of the union, said the dismissal action was taken to avoid a situation in the future where some unscrupulous elements could give the union a bad name through such illegal acts.

“There was an instance where Indian hemp was inserted in sacks of maize, beans and groundnuts purportedly coming from a funeral ground. It was detected at a customs barrier that they were not just maize, beans and groundnuts as initially thought.

“When they opened, they saw that there were packs of Indian hemp inside. The good thing there was that we were able to identify the owner of the Indian hemp inside the bus. The customs arrested him and the bus was released,” said Mr. Abulbire.



Another trick used by marijuana dealers on buses revealed

The chairman, who is widely acclaimed for his dedication to the welfare of members of the union and for his commitment to discipline and orderliness at the park, also revealed another modus operandi being used by narcotics pushers and colluders at bus terminals to outwit potential whistleblowers.

“It happened another time. He just entered the bus, put a bag under the seat 29 and he sat on the seat 14. The passenger at the seat 29 would not know who owned the bag under him. The bus got to the customs point. They entered and saw it, and they had to pick it.

“That time, we did not know who the owner was. But the driver and the mate suspected one man on the seat 14. When they took the bag on him, and opened and found Indian hemp in it, he admitted that the other sack (under the seat 29) was for him. We handed him over to the customs. We later realised that some of these dealers are capitalising on the inattentiveness of the loading boys or engaged in conspiracy with the loading boys to discredit the union,” the Regional Chairman narrated.

Ganja peddler conspires with mate

Citing another incident, the chairman narrated to Starr News how one of the loading boys was caught in the act inside the ever-busy park.

The young man, he said, conspired with an Indian hemp dealer at a fee to conceal a bag of marijuana among a collection of goods on a big truck without the knowledge of the driver and his fellow loading boys.

Whilst goods were being lifted onto the truck by his colleagues, he dropped a bag in the middle of the items on board. But an observer, who believed he was up to a fishy move, drew the driver’s attention. A subsequent search through the cargoes revealed that the bag he added to the goods was full of cannabis.

“There was a policeman just standing by, inside the lorry park, at that time. And when we asked who put it inside, it was one boy who we knew. The boy vanished. He vanished and that was the end. Up to now, he has not resurfaced at the station because he knew what we could have done if we had gotten him,” said Mr. Abulbire.

He added: “As at now, we have one case of that nature at the circuit court in Kumasi. Somebody came again. What he did was that he conspired with the mate, not the loading boys this time round. He put the Indian hemp at one side. After the vehicle had loaded and taken off from the terminal, he got up, stopped and carried the Indian hemp into the bus. When the vehicle was intercepted by police around Kintampo and dragged to Kumasi, we realised that the owner of the Indian hemp was somebody in town here but he dealt with the mate.”



GPRTU Chair announces mobile contacts to curb transport-related offences

The Regional Chairman noted that the action taken against the blameworthy loading boys was just one among many examples that demonstrated the fact that the union was committed to pursuing the general interest of passengers.

He further told the general public to feel free to reach him directly on his mobile telephone lines anytime they needed the attention of the Regional Secretariat on any issue bordering on the GPRTU.

“For the general public, any information, any attitude uncalled for from a mate, a driver or a loading boy, I wish to state that they should always try to do well by locating our offices and report or try to access our telephone numbers and report. Trust me, they will be happy for giving out a genuine complaint on a driver, a mate or a loading boy.

“GPRTU has been there for long. Our services are good. But it’s just a few miscreants who are among us. They managed to get in because we couldn’t have screened them. We now rely on the public to report not only serious complaints but also minor complaints about the conduct of such characters so that we can clean the whole union to become the union everybody would love to work with. My numbers are 0208240796 and 0244295404,” he stated.