The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has impounded four fuel tankers for allegedly diverting 2.2 million litres of transit diesel for sale in Ghana.

The consignment would have cost the country GH¢320,000 in taxes.

Confirmation

A source at the Customs Division told the Daily Graphic that the tankers were impounded near Kpone in the Tema metropolis in the Greater Accra Region about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20, this year.

It said the fuel was taken from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and was meant for Mali.

The four tankers had Malian number plates, but after leaving the TOR depot, the drivers drove to B5, near Kpone, removed the Malian number plates and replaced them with Ghanaian number plates to enable them to offload the content in Ghana for sale.

The number plates of the tankers were AV 4470 MD, P-1508-M3, AM 9101 MD and AF 8767 MD.

The source explained that each tanker was carrying 550,000 litres of diesel, which would have attracted GH¢80,000 in taxes.

It added that the drivers, having left the TOR depot, deactivated the tracking devices that were mounted on the trucks by Customs officers.

It explained that the Tema office of the Customs Division got wind of the activities of the tankers and quickly dispatched its preventive officers to the scene, where they caught the culprits in the act.

It said the culprits, all Malians, were arrested and handed over to the Tema Port and Railway Police.

Auction

The source told the Daily Graphic­ that the four tankers had been confiscated and that the fuel would be auctioned by Customs.

“We have seized the four tankers and we will auction the fuel,” it said, pointing out that Dome Energy Resources Limited, the transporter of the fuel, had been invited to assist with investigations.

It warned that Customs would severely punish any company or group of people who tried to evade taxes by diverting transit goods onto Ghanaian markets.

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