A joint security team at the Aflao Border has detained Obinna Robinson, a 35-year-old Nigerian, on suspicion of smuggling Hepatitis B medication into Ghana.
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, the suspect was caught operating a Sienna car registered to Amadel Transport Company in Nigeria with the license plate ENU 369 ZG. Security personnel found 1,200 ampoules of Euvax B, Eupenta injection, and Hepatitis B vaccine rDNA hidden inside the car’s body parts, such as the spare tire compartment and the door card compartment, during a normal examination.
Personnel from the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division, the Narcotics Control Commission, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Small Arms and Light Weapons Commission, and other security organizations participated in the operation.
The smuggled pharmaceuticals were confiscated, and the vehicle was impounded pending further investigations.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday, Volta Regional Head of the FDA, Gordon Akurugu, reiterated that drugs are not permitted to pass through land borders but must enter the country via air or sea.
“No drug should pass through inland borders but only through the harbour and the Kotoka International Airport. The fact that they conceal the drugs tells you they know they are engaging in an illicit act,” he stated.
The integrity and purity of vaccinations, which must be stored at temperatures between two and eight degrees Celsius, are jeopardized by such concealment, he said. He underlined that there is a significant risk to public health from pharmaceutical smuggling.
Mr. Akurugu called on Nigerian regulatory bodies to bolster efforts to stop illegal drug trafficking and maintain public health norms.
