The driver and passenger of a Daewoo Kia with the license plate AS 3513-19 are now being questioned by authorities.
The suspects are helping the police with their inquiries.
The police-citizen task group in the Dadieso-Enchi Forest Reserve confiscated the laden bags of cocoa in jute sacks.
Speaking to the media, Philip Kwabena Boahene, the district chief executive for Suaman Dadieso, stated that although people from outside the district travel through the area to smuggle goods, residents in the area do not participate in cocoa smuggling and that they will take all necessary measures to apprehend those responsibly.
Due to several issues, including over-aged trees and climate change, Ghana experienced a shortage of 300,000 metric tonnes of cocoa in the crop season of 2021–2022, the lowest in 15 years. If not stopped in their tracks, traffickers might increase the crop year’s present shortfall, according to worries.
Smuggling of cocoa beans is common in the Suaman Dadieso Region.
For many years, cocoa beans have been smuggled illegally between the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which is nearby.
The smuggling of cocoa between Ghana and the Ivory Coast occurs often, with the direction of the trafficking varying according to the price differential between the two nations.
The producer price for cocoa in Ivory Coast increased from 825 to 900 CFA francs, a nine percent increase.
The 900 CFA Franc per bag of cocoa weighing 64 kilograms gross is comparable to GH850 in cedis.
Also, as of October 7, 2022, Ghana increased the cocoa producer price by 21% to GH 800 per bag for the 2022–2023 growing season.
