The Ghana Police Service has intercepted 17 boxes of gold being transported illegally to Dubai.

According to reports, yesterday, December 17, 2024, at approximately 8:30 p.m., the police seized the illicit gold.

In Ghana, they were apprehended at the Aviance Kotoka Airport.

They have escorted the gold bars to the Regional Police Headquarters in Greater Accra.

In the meantime, the UK government has disclosed that illicit mining and gold smuggling cost Ghana $2 billion in tax income per year.

“This is all lost revenue to the government of Ghana,” said Chris Aston, team lead for the UK Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP), who was speaking at a Civil Society Organization (CSO) conference with political parties on mining reforms and governance. Right now, the industry is at risk. It is being used by criminal organizations. There are increasing dangers. More than double as much gold has been smuggled. We seek to thwart illicit financial inflows and mining. Every year, Ghana loses around US$2 billion due to gold smuggling.

There were reports of about 60 tons of gold being smuggled out of Ghana in 2022.