Ghana arrests three Indian nationals over suspected gold smuggling ring
Three Indian nationals have been arrested in Ghana on suspicion of operating a gold smuggling syndicate that authorities believe has been taking tons of the precious metal out of the country for more than a decade, the West African country's gold trading regulator said on Tuesday.
The three pleaded guilty at their arraignment and will remain in custody until a court hearing scheduled for May 12, said a spokesperson for the regulator GoldBod.
Ghana and other African countries have been losing billions worth of gold every year due to smuggling.
The country established a new government body known as GoldBod in March to streamline gold purchases from small-scale miners, increase their earnings and reduce the impact of smuggling. Under the new system, foreign companies can only get the precious metal from GoldBod.
The regulator said on X the suspects, who are aged 35, 22 and 42, were apprehended at their residence in the southern city of Kumasi, which investigators said had been converted into an unauthorised gold trading centre.
GoldBod said they were in possession of 1.9m cedis (R2.4m), 4.3kg of gold, two counting machines, a CCTV recorder and an Indian passport.
The regulator said the suspects had not provided GoldBod with residence permits, work authorisations or tax payment records related to their business activities.
GoldBod spokesperson Prince Kwame Minkah told Reuters: "Much of the smuggled gold is exported to India, China and the United Arab Emirates and we lose."
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