The impounded rosewood at the police headquarters in Tamale
The Northern Regional Police Command has released trucks loaded with rosewood to its owners.
This was after the Forestry Commission confirmed that Ednak Company Limited, 3EL Construction Limited and Salley Delwinde Company Limited, who are the owners of the rosewood, had the right documents to transport the timber.
Police in the Northern Region intercepted three trucks with rosewood heading towards Tema in the Greater Accra Region from Tumu.
The trucks were then escorted to the regional police command for further investigations before the Forestry Commission verified the documents.
The Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, who confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said the police released the trucks after the Forestry Commission authenticated the documents.
He indicated that the three trucks have since been handed over to the owners.
It’s turning out that the trucks belong to Mr. Hu, a Chinese who is linked to Helen Huang, the 43-year-old Chinese woman, who jumped bail last week after being caught in possession of large quantities of rosewood.
Police sources said Helen Huang, who escaped after being granted police enquiry bail, wrote in her statement that there are between 30 and 40 containers of rosewood currently near Tumu in the Upper West Region.
Police intelligence showed that Helen Huang, after jumping bail in Tamale, escaped to Togo but has been frequenting Tumu.
Already, Mohammed Bondirigbum, a freelance journalist who stood surety for Helen Huang, has been granted bail.
The Tamale Circuit Court, presided over by Justice Twumasi, granted Mohammed Bondirigbum bail with two sureties.
The court said the sureties should be government workers earning GH¢3,000 each or landed property worth about GH¢130,000
The 43-year-old Chinese woman was arrested by the Tamale Regional Police Command at Vittim, a suburb of Tamale, with two trucks carrying four containers of rosewood, which has been banned.
Many people over-exploit rosewood in the wild despite a 2010 moratorium on trade and illegal logging, which continues in the country on a large scale.
In Ghana, the Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources has banned the harvest of rosewood in line with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Following the arrest of Helen Huang for illegal possession of rosewood, the Savannah Regional Minister, Salifu Adam Braimah, shut down Brivywells Company, a logging company located near Damongo, which he said belongs to Helen Huang.
There was drama at the Regional Police Command when Helen Huang accused the police at the barrier of demanding bribe from her to allow safe passage.
According to her, she was arrested because she refused to pay bribe demanded by the police and not because she does not have the right documents.
From Eric Kombat, Tamale