Police, military clash over truck carrying suspected smuggled goods

Police personnel and some soldiers last Wednesday clashed in Missiga in the Bawku Municipality over a truck carrying suspected smuggled goods. 

The incident occurred when personnel of both security agencies attempted to impound a truck suspected to be transporting some smuggled goods into Togo.

The disagreement over who should have custody of the truck to conduct further investigations after it was impounded led to the misunderstanding. 

How it happened

The Daily Graphic gathered that some police personnel stationed at a checkpoint off the Pusiga-Widana road impounded the truck while en route to the Polimakom border to cross to neighbouring Togo.

Subsequently, the police officers alerted their superiors at the Bawku Divisional Command to the incident, leading to the deployment of personnel to the scene.

Not long after, some military personnel and officers of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the Polimakom border also arrived at the scene to impound the truck.

They said they had a tip-off that the truck was carrying some goods and, therefore, wanted to take the vehicle to the border for a search.

However, the police personnel who arrested the truck driver and subsequently impounded the truck declined to release the truck to the military and customs officers.

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In the course of the misunderstanding, a police reinforcement team from Bawku arrived and directed the driver to move towards the police command for questioning. 

While on their way to Bawku, a military reinforcement team followed them and they both clashed at the Missiga checkpoint. 

The ensuing melee resulted in the firing of guns by personnel of both security agencies.

A local resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said at the time of the brawl, members of the Bawku Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC), were in a meeting and had to close the meeting and rush to the scene.

The source said on arrival at the scene, the committee calmed the personnel and ordered the goods to be offloaded.

After the goods were offloaded, it was discovered that the truck contained 20 bags of cocoa beans and some boxes of cooking oil.

Statement

A statement issued by the Ghana Police Service said the service intercepted the smuggled consignment based on intelligence and were in the process of escorting the truck to the Bawku Divisional Police for onward handover to the Ghana Cocoa Board, and the culprits investigated and prosecuted.

It said in the aftermath of the incident, the leadership of the three state agencies promptly intervened to resolve the matter at the national level to maintain harmony and restore cooperation among the agencies involved.

Meanwhile, the Regional Security Council, under the leadership of the Regional Minister, is also meeting the personnel and their leaders at the regional level to complement the efforts at the national level. 

Earlier clashes

The latest clash comes on the back of a number of clashes among the security services in the region. Last April, a misunderstanding between some military personnel and prison officers in Bawku led to three prison officers being injured.

The incident was said to have occurred when the military personnel demanded the release of two men who were suspected to have run into a prison yard to escape arrest.

Also in June, a police officer sustained minor injuries after armed military personnel clashed with police personnel at the Paga District Police Command.

On July 24, 2024, some personnel of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Immigration Service at the Kulungugu border in the Pusiga District also clashed over a disagreement about the payment of border fees.

Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh