Task force impounds truck-load of textiles at Makola
The task force on seizure and disposal of pirated Ghanaian textile designs yesterday morning impounded a truck load of pirated textiles at the Makola Market in Accra.
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The exercise formed part of efforts by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to crack down on pirated textiles on the market.
The vehicle, with registration number GX 3166-14, and its driver were later taken to the Accra Central Police Station for investigation, while the owners of the textiles were invited to identify their products.
When police investigations into the textiles are completed, the textiles will be taken to the Trade Ministry for the appropriate action to be taken.
Tip-off
Briefing the Daily Graphic, a member of the task force, Mr Francis Omari, said it had a tip-off early yesterday morning that a Benz truck loaded with pirated textiles was arriving at the Makola Market from Ho in the Volta Region.
Consequently, he said, arrangements were made for the task force to lay ambush, intercept the truck, confiscate it and arrest the driver.
Some of the textiles were pirated ATL, GTP and Printex designs.
Scuffle
When a Daily Graphic team visited the Makola Market yesterday morning, a scuffle had ensued between some of the traders and the task force, with the traders insisting that they would not allow the seized truck to be driven to the police station.
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They, therefore, blocked sections of the road.
The confrontation persisted for about three hours until the police intervened to calm down tempers.
Some of the traders claimed that majority of the textiles were not pirated and their fear was that they might not get the textiles back when they were taken to the police station.
“Anytime they seize our textiles, whether pirated or not, they are not returned to us,” Ms Doris Owusu Brown, a trader, told the Daily Graphic.
Ms Eweonam Kulevomey, another trader, alleged that some officials at the borders often connived with traders to import pirated textiles into the country and called for strict measures at the various borders to stop the practice.
“We are innocent; if they stop importing them into the country, we too will not patronise them,” she contended.