Police say an immigration officer stationed in Bolgatanga has been taken into custody as part of investigations into the interception of 2,600 rounds of AK-47 ammunition that were being transported to northern Ghana late last year.
The ammunition was intercepted on December 26, 2025, at the Asankare police barrier in the Ashanti Region during a routine vehicle inspection. Police stopped a Kia Granbird bus with registration number GT 5771-18, which was traveling from Accra to Walewale, with Paga listed as its final destination.
During a search of the bus, officers discovered two concealed containers holding the ammunition. Police also retrieved two bulletproof plates, a black ballistic helmet, and a pair of long black boots hidden beneath the driver’s seat. The bus driver, Kwame Afram, and his assistant, Godfred Essel, were arrested at the scene for unlawful possession of ammunition and have since been assisting police with investigations. The bus and all recovered items were impounded.
According to police, preliminary investigations linked some of the protective items found on the bus to an immigration officer currently stationed at the Bolgatanga Regional Provost of the Ghana Immigration Service. His name has not been released by authorities. A police report said the Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police John Dzineku Ferguson, requested that the officer be released to the police to assist with investigations.
Police said the immigration officer was handed over to them on January 2, 2026, at about 12:20 p.m. He was subsequently detained for questioning.
During interrogation, the officer told investigators that before his transfer to the Upper East Region, he worked as a dispatch rider at the Tema Regional Immigration Office. He said he was transferred to Paga in June 2025 and left behind a body armour plate and a pair of old long black boots.
The officer told police that on December 26, 2025, he asked another immigration officer, identified as Isaac and stationed at the service’s headquarters in Accra, to send the items to him in Paga. According to preliminary police information, Isaac agreed and packaged the body armour plate, long black boots, a ballistic helmet, an electric diffuser, and a disco bulb, and placed them on a bus for delivery.
Police records indicate that the bus used was the same Kia Granbird with registration number GT 5771-18 that was later intercepted at Asankare. The police report stated that the bus was driven by a man identified as Charles Brown at the time the items were dispatched, though further details about his role have not been clarified.
Investigators said that on December 27, 2025, the immigration officer in Paga contacted an individual identified as Siso in Walewale to collect the parcel on his behalf. He later learned that Siso had been arrested by police in connection with the interception.
Police emphasized that investigations are still ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the transportation of the ammunition, the involvement of all persons named, and the intended use of the consignment. Authorities stressed that all suspects mentioned are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses.