By Esther Aidoo
Nine Public Officers, including five Customs officers, one officer from the Narcotics Control Commission, one Port Security officer, one Energy Commission officer and one Standards Authority officer, have been arrested and granted police inquiry bail in connection with the interception of a container carrying a large consignment of undeclared tramadol at Tema Port.
In a statement, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) said the arrests followed the seizure by its Customs Division of a container loaded with 299 cartons containing 146,932,000 tablets (250mg and 225mg) of undeclared tramadol hydrochloride, weighing 34,847.2 kilogrammes. The seizure was triggered by intelligence received by the preventive wing of the Customs Division.
Container number TGHU6228715, cleared under Bill of Entry 40226151187, was detained on 26 February 2026 and transferred to a Customs-controlled area in Tema for further examination. The shipment, which originated from the United Arab Emirates, had been declared as containing household items, including water kettles, kitchen blenders, pressing irons, energy-saving bulbs and polypropylene materials.
However, a joint re-examination conducted by Customs officers and the Central Revenue Monitoring Team on 1 March 2026 uncovered significant discrepancies. In addition to some of the declared items, officers discovered large quantities of concealed and undeclared tramadol tablets hidden inside the container.
The importer and declarant have been handed over to the police to assist with ongoing investigations. The seized consignment remains under Customs control as investigations continue.
The GRA said it remains committed to safeguarding national security, protecting public health and preserving the integrity of Ghana’s revenue and border management systems.
