Massive gold, cash bust: National Security seizes millions - Suspects flee

National Security has made a massive bust, seizing a large unspecified amount of US dollars and Ghana Cedis, including counterfeits hidden in 12 different 20-foot shipping containers. 

The sting operation also discovered and led to the seizure of boxes of heavy metals, suspected to be gold bars.

The containers were tracked to a warehouse at Ofakor in the Ga South Municipality, where a special late-night operation was conducted after a tip-off.

The concealed currency, mostly bundles of US dollars, was found in wooden boxes covered with cement.

Boxes of Ghana Cedi and US dollar notes

Extra currencies were discovered when other boxes were opened in the warehouse during the sting operation, all of them suspected to be fake and stashed in the boxes that were sealed with plywood and covered with charcoal.

National Security operatives involved in the operation disclosed that two more containers were being tracked.

Although suspects of the crime syndicate are on the run, a manhunt is underway for four of them, including the suspected ring leader known for now as Alhaji, a source with inside knowledge about the issue told the Daily Graphic.

Other items retrieved from the warehouse, according to the source, included boxes of metals suspected to be gold bars, counterfeit Ghana Cedi notes in 50 and 100 denominations, and fake Ghana Army uniforms and boots.

Similar operations in the past have led to the busting of gangs dealing in fake currencies, both local and foreign, or fraudulent gold trading syndicates operating in the country.

However the source indicated this latest discovery could be one of the biggest in volume and value in the country in recent times.