Witness accuses CEPS officials of extortion

Accra, Aug. 20, GNA - Mr. Isaac Owusu-Yankah, a businessman testifying at the Justice Glenn Baddoo Committee of Enquiry on Monday made extortion allegations against some officials of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) at the Tema Port. Mr. Owusu-Yankah who identified himself as businessman in Tema, said a container of printed books he bid for turned to be "wet", and one Mr Gyamfi demanded GH=A2150.

He said he pleaded with Mr. Gyamfi and paid GH=A260 to him before he (Gyamfi) signed the release document for his goods. He said another officer, one Mr. Donkor also demanded some money before he took the container out, explaining that the official had said they also deserved their share if he had managed to give money to some other custom officers to reduce the reserved price of the container from GH=A2 4,800 to GH=A2 4,000.

Mr. Owusu-Yankah stated he never gave any such money to any CEPS official to reduce the price of the container, but the reduction was by consensus among officials to make for the damaged books. He added that Mr William Apeadu, an official of the CEPS at Tema eventually endorsed the release chit. Witness said Mr. Apeadu had wondered the supervisor of auctions, Madam Millicent Akpo-Teye was going to leave the "place to let them have their peace to do their work, because they had sold the goods at GH=A24,800 but she reduced it to GH=A24,000 and that was causing problems."

Witness said: "My problem is with Mr Apeadu; he promised to give me goods to sell to recoup my loss. Up to date he has not done that. Besides, the goods that I bought are still in the warehouse. I've not been able to sell them. "I wonder why Mr Apeadu told me Madam Millicent was causing problem to them, because in the course of their reducing [the price] of those very goods to me, they all came to a consensus to reduce [the price] because of the condition in which they goods were.

"I wish to state that Madam Millicent was not the one who used her own powers to sell the goods to me." Witness said he won other bids of electronic items and computer accessories, personal effects, food supplements, at different times, but it rather turned out that the goods were below what was stated in the lists, totally different or damaged items. He said after a number of failed promises from Mr. Apeadu for the CEPS to give him goods to replace his loss, he petitioned the CEPS Commissioner, complaining about the way "his officers at the Tema Port had made me run into a loss".

Mr. Owusu-Yankah explained that at one auction he bid for items at GH=A2 20,500, made sales of GH=A2 8,300 million cedis. At another, bid he bought the goods at GH=A2 12,500 and made sales at GH=A25,300.

Witness said he wondered why Mr Apeadu, who he alleged had approached him to keep the matter confidential and not to give any statement to the press when superior officials had wanted to organize a press conference, promised him a replacement but had still not make good his word. "Customs did not perform their duties well and as a result, I ran into a loss. I pray the Committee to recommend to the Government to compensate me for my loss," Mr Owusu-Yankah said.