The Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD), in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service(GPS), has arrested three suspects alleged to be involved in a syndicate that smuggles gold from the country.
The arrests follow weeks of undercover operations, which began with a tip-off on August 26, this year, leading to the seizure of 9.2 kilogrammes of gold worth over GH¢10.2 million at Winneba Junction.
The three suspects were remanded by the Accra High Court on September 5, 2025, for two weeks and subsequently granted bail last Friday in the sum of GH¢50 million, with strict conditions.
However, they remain in custody for failing to meet the bail requirements.
Also, the police and the GoldBod have launched a manhunt for four other suspects alleged to be involved in the gold smuggling, illegal gold trading and related offences.
The GoldBod stated that the four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, who were being pursued by the police and the GoldBod Task Force, were Muhammed Afsal Puthalan, Abdul Karim, Muhammed Nandoli Rafeeq and Sadique Abubakari.
Bounty
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, made this known at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said the GoldBod had secured arrest warrants for the four suspects and had announced a bounty of GH¢1 million on each of them.
He, therefore, appealed to the public to assist in locating the four suspects.
Crackdown
The GoldBod CEO stressed that the crackdown formed part of ongoing efforts to dismantle what he described as “one of the most elaborate gold-smuggling syndicates uncovered by the GoldBod since its establishment”.
“This case is extremely serious; it represents the boldest attempt yet to undermine the integrity of Ghana’s gold regulatory system.
We are working closely with security agencies to ensure that every individual involved is brought to book,” Mr Gyamfi said at the press conference to update the media on the arrest and prosecution of the gold smuggling syndicate.
The syndicate, he alleged, involved companies known as RAFMOH Gold Ltd and NK Bernak Enterprise.
Mr Gyamfi explained that following a tip-off from a Ghanaian whistleblower, the GoldBod Task Force apprehended Abdul Razak Seidu, a courier allegedly recruited to transport gold for the syndicate, on August 27, 2025, at the Winneba Junction, and found in his possession, substances confirmed to be 9.2KG of gold, valued at about GH¢10.2 million.
“Investigators found 9.2 kilogrammes of gold with an average purity of 92.5 per cent and a net weight of 8.5 kilogrammes, valued at GH¢10.2 million at the time of seizure,” he added.
He said subsequent investigations by the GoldBod Task Force led to the arrest of Bernard Nkrumah, a Tier Two licensed gold buyer (proprietor) of the GoldBod, who operates in Tarkwa under the business name “NK Benark Enterprise”, and Ibrahim Aremeyaw, another suspect linked to the network.
He said further investigations revealed that Aremeyaw, a key business associate of Rafmoh Gold Ltd, a company not licensed by the GoldBod, was allegedly the sponsor and mastermind of the gold smuggling syndicate.
Mr Gyamfi said the smuggling ring worked by funding licensed traders to buy gold on behalf of foreigners.
The gold would then be couriered from Tarkwa to Accra, aggregated, and smuggled through the Togo borders.
“It’s been established through investigations that the company, through its officers and several couriers recruited by them, illegally purchased over 100 kilogrammes of gold, valued at over GH¢100 million from NK Bernak Enterprise at Tarkwa over the last two months alone,” he added.
Mr Gyamfi said the passage of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), banned foreigners from directly purchasing gold in Ghana.
