Officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Nyive Sector Command in the Volta Region have intercepted a vehicle being smuggled from Togo into Ghana.
The vehicle, which the officers said had a suspicious registration number (GG-477-14), was intercepted on some unapproved routes along the Kojoga (Togo)-Takla (Ghana) border stretch in the Ho municipality.
A statement issued by Felix Klu-Adjei, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GIS in the region, said the incident happened last Friday, April 17, at about 12:30 am.
He said the Nyive Sector Commander, Supt. Justice K. K. Setordjie, notified the officers to be on high alert after receiving information on a pending smuggling activity between Kojoga and Takla.
While on guard on Friday night, the GIS Border Patrol Team spotted a white Opel-Astra vehicle which was being moved into the country, and swiftly moved into action.
The driver of the said vehicle was given a hot chase till he finally abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush in the Takla town.
The vehicle was intercepted and moved to the Nyive Sector Command Office.
It has since been handed over to the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority by the Volta Regional Commander of GIS, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCI) Peter Claver Nantuo (Esq.), for further investigations.
In another development, the Nyive and Shia Commands of the GIS have intercepted five motorbikes from various unapproved routes along their border operation areas.
DCI Peter Claver Nantuo (Esq.) commended the sector commanders and their officers for good work and selfless service of ensuring full security along Ghana’s borders even in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The commander who had visited the area to monitor operations was elated that the harsh conditions under which his men worked had not deterred them from discharging their mandate satisfactorily.
Mr. Nantuo also thanked the chiefs, opinion leaders and the media for the support handed security personnel in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic along the various borders. He specifically noted that the overwhelming number of the youth volunteering their time and resources to support the security personnel was priceless.
He said that notwithstanding, the fight was still far from over, and hence encouraged the public to keep supporting, volunteer prompt information and desist from engaging or facilitating illegal activities along the borders.
The Mankrado of Nyive, Togbe Akpasu III, commended the GIS officers stationed in the area for their discipline and dedication to work.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@yahoo.com)