Freight station official arrested over disappearance of container at Tema Port

Officials of the Tema Command of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have arrested a freight station official for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of a 40-footer container at the Tema Port.

 Identified as Stephen Nyarko and an official of BMT Container Freight Station, the suspect is alleged to have falsified documents to secure a waybill from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to transfer the container from the Tema Container Terminal (TCT) to the premises of BMT for onward clearance.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the command, Ms Dzinunya Mawuli, told the Daily Graphic that during a routine check on January 2, 2018, officials of the command detected that the container was unaccounted for and, therefore, began investigations into the matter.

The investigations, she said, had established that there could be a syndicate within the port which could be perpetrating such acts.

Transfer not ordered

The incident, which occurred on December 27, 2017, had led to the situation where the agent of the importer failed to pay a revenue of GH¢80,000 being duty and taxes on the consignment.

 Ms Mawuli explained that the command on the said date received a request purported to have been signed by the Director General of BMT, Mr Charles Sena Avoryi, asking for a transfer of the container to the premises of BMT to enable the importer’s agents to process clearance documentations on it.

Mr Avoryi, she said, had, however, denied authoring any such letter and had since provided his sample signatures to Customs to assist in investigations.

Investigations

The initial investigations, Ms Mawuli stated, led to the arrest of one Noah Tetteh, a driver of a truck with registration number GR 7715-13, carrying the container.

“The driver has since been granted bail after he led officials to arrest Nyarko from his hideout,” Ms Mawuli said.