Eight persons, including four officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and freight forwarder Francis Narh Amanor, have appeared before the Kwabenya Circuit Court in connection with the alleged clearance of four containers later intercepted in France with about 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine.
The accused were brought to court under police escort on Thursday, September 24, 2026, as investigations continue into how the containers passed through the Tema Port despite alleged abnormalities detected during the Customs scanning process.
The four containers were reportedly intercepted by French customs authorities at the Port of Dunkirk on September 10, 2026. French authorities valued the seized cocaine at approximately €225 million, equivalent to about US$261 million.
The case has placed the Customs scanning and clearance procedures at Tema Port under intense scrutiny.
According to the prosecution’s case, the containers — identified as SELU4549480, FFAU2242304, MSDU5642699 and SELU4809801 — underwent scanning before being exported. The resulting scan images were allegedly abnormal and should have triggered further examination, but the containers were nevertheless cleared.
Four GRA-linked accused persons — Togbe Agbeti, Andrews Tetteh Amponsah, Daniel Laryea and Helena Akua Denkyi — are facing allegations of abetting the alleged exportation of narcotic drugs.
The prosecution has alleged that the four failed to properly analyse the abnormal scan images, thereby facilitating the movement of the containers out of Ghana.
Freight forwarder Francis Narh Amanor, who is described as the Managing Director of Fresna Commodities Ltd, is also among those facing charges.
Investigators have reportedly linked Fresna Commodities Ltd to the shipment through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS). Amanor is alleged to have told investigators that he handled the exportation of the containers and that they were declared as carrying pet flakes or plastic scraps.
The accused persons face charges including conspiracy to export narcotic drugs, exportation of narcotic drugs without the requisite licence and, in the case of the four GRA officials, abetment of the alleged exportation.
Six of the accused were previously denied bail by the Kwabenya Circuit Court on September 17 and remanded in custody until September 24 to allow investigations to continue.
The court proceedings form part of a wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shipment, including who reviewed the scan images, what was detected, what action was taken and how the containers were ultimately allowed to leave the Tema Port.
The accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
