200 pick-ups missing

About 200 Mitsubishi pick-ups said to have been imported by the former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie before the 2000 elections cannot be found, the Evening News reports in Accra.

The customs duties on the 200 pick-ups were not paid at the port, thereby resulting in the loss of billions of cedis to the state.

Investigations by the paper revealed that the vehicles were brought into the country through the Japan Motors with Mr. Baba Kamara, NDC National Treasurer, acting as agent for the Chief of Staff.

Efforts by the security agencies to trace the whereabouts of the 200 vehicles made to headway. However sources close to the security agencies told the paper that they were imported for the distribution by the Chief of Staff’s office.

It said under normal circumstances vehicles imported by the government do not attract duties but the 200 vehicles imported by the former Chief of Staff did not go to any government agency, ministry or department, a situation which has become the source of worry to security agencies investigating the case.

Further investigations have revealed that the pick-ups were the ones used by the NDC in their campaign for the 2000 elections.

Immediately after the elections, the party colours on the vehicles were changed. Another source hinted that the vehicles were brought into the country in four batches made up of 50 cars each.

There are no records of the 200 vehicles at the Driver License and Vehicle Authority (DLVA).

Police investigating the case say letters have been sent to all CEPS regional heads in all the 10 regions to help trace the whereabouts of the 200 pick-ups.

The measure is to help unravel the circumstances surrounding the the whereabouts of the vehicles.

Information gathered by the team told the Evening News that the vehicles are expected to be hidden somewhere but everything possible will be done to recover them.