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The Inquirer Intel
The Inquirer’s investigations into alleged bust of massive haul of gold bars and 100-dollar bills in mountains of wads being smuggled into Ghana, which was reported in the media may be a patent hoax.
By the accounts that were awash in the media, The Inquirer found videos and pictures of what looked like wads of $50 and $100 denominated bills and soldiers trying to open a certain container.
Intriguingly, since the story broke on 9 February, this year, there has not been any follow up or a briefing by the Police or National Security Chief.
Not even the IGP or Ministry of Interior have since made a public statement on the matter, with the nameless and faceless Alhaji still unidentified, and the loot or contraband value and sum made public.
In the same breath, it is still a mystery where the loot and contraband have been transported to, barely thirty (30) days after the arrest.
With a new Minister of State in Charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, vetted and approved, hopes are that the hoax would be unravelled as hoax or as fact under investigations, with names and faces showing as evidence that Government and the incumbent administration was not playing a prank on the country.
The Inquirer sources from very reliable security agencies suspect that it was cooked, and that everything about the story could be false and contrived.
Our sources within the National Security denied it has an authentic dossier on the case that was mooted by social media and subsequently found its way into sections of the traditional media, including very credible online portals.
“We don’t have any such report or have we detailed a team to investigate such a story. Check with the relevant Ministry or Police Command where the incident or story was reported,” he advised.
Another, affirming the lack of veracity in the story, said they had also seen social media reports, “without having been professionally apprised of any incident of that magnitude.”
Our similarly credible sources within the Ghana Police Service and the Military; when contacted, also had nothing concrete to say except to direct us to check the sources the story emanated from and producers who published the story, including Editors.
Again, in that regard, nothing concrete surfaced and had surfaced up till date.
The story goes that the National Security had conducted a major operation, seizing a substantial yet unspecified amount of U.S. dollars and Ghana cedis notes, concealed in twelve 20-foot shipping containers.
The containers, the story said, were traced to a warehouse in Sapeiman, Ga South Municipality, where a special operation was launched following a tip-off.
The hidden currency, primarily bundles of U.S. dollars, was discovered inside wooden boxes filled with cement.
During the sting operation, additional boxes opened in the warehouse revealed more cash concealed in compartments barricaded with plywood and sealed with charcoal.
According to National Security operatives, two containers remain unaccounted for, but state security trackers are actively pursuing them.
Meanwhile, a manhunt is underway for four suspects, including a ringleader known only as Alhaji.
The warehouse search uncovered even more alarming discoveries, including boxes of metals suspected to be gold bars, counterfeit Ghana cedi notes in ₵50 and ₵100 denominations, as well as fake Ghana Army uniforms and boots.
