Dabala (V/R), Oct. 24, GNA - A mini bus carrying smuggled wax prints ran into a ditch along the Sogakope-Adidome stretch of the Accra-Aflao Highway on Saturday night while the driver was fleeing from a Customs patrol unit, a senior Customs officer told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

Mr. Ben Suuri, a Chief Collector of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) in charge of the Dabala Check Point, said that 960 pieces of real wax prints valued at about 482 million cedis was on the bus. The total payable duty of the wax prints is 192.7 million cedis. He said the vehicle has been impounded but the driver, the only occupant at the time, has fled.

Mr Suuri said acting on a tip-off to his unit at about 2000 hours on Saturday, the patrol team spotted the Hyundai bus with registration number GW 7912 X and pursued it towards Sogakope. He said during the chase, an Opel saloon car, which was apparently leading the goods withdrew to the rear of the bus and prevented the Customs patrol vehicle from closing up on it.

He said it got to a point that the Customs patrol vehicle had visibility problem as a result of dust being blown by the saloon car, forcing the team to fire four warning shots. He said on hearing the warning shots, the saloon car sped off and in an attempt by the Hyundai bus driver also to escape, he ran into a ditch. On Sunday morning, the GNA witnessed the discovery of 60 pieces of wax prints by a patrol team from the bush around Lakpo Junction, a village where a CEPS team was recently attacked by unidentified smugglers during patrols.

Mr Suuri said his unit had secured two engine boats for regular patrols along the Volta River at Sogakope to complement land patrols, as most goods are now ferried along the river. 24 Oct. 06