Cocoa Seized At Port

Exel Logistics Ghana Limited, a private shipping company, is helping the police with its investigations into the company?s alleged attempt to illegally export a large volume of cocoa beans to Holland from Tema Harbour.

Under PNDC Law 81 (1984) only the Ghana Cocoa Board has the right to purchase market and export cocoa produced in Ghana and graded under the Cocoa Industry Regulation. The law states that no person shall purchase cocoa apart from GCB, either through its wholly owned subsidiary companies, or a person or organisation authorised in writing by the Board to purchase cocoa on the GCB?s behalf.

The Special National Security Officer in Tema, in collaboration with staff of the Cocoa Marketing Company, on Wednesday intercepted six 20-foot containers loaded with about 1,200 maxi-bags of cocoa beans at the Tema Habour. Security sources at the port told Newsmen that when the containers were intercepted, another 275 bags of cocoa beans were seen being prepared to be loaded by the company into a waiting container. The sources said the intercepted cocoa beans were part of a total of 10 containers that the company was shipping Holland under the description of ?cashew nuts and sesame seeds.?

According to the security sources, the intercepted cocoa was billed to be shipped by the MV Nicholas Delmas. Logistics claimed to have transported the cocoa into the country from the northern part of Cote d?Ivoire via Bobo-Diolasso in Burkina Faso and through the border crossing into Ghana at Paga.