Oil Palm Association Demands Dismissal of Customs Officers Over Alleged Smuggling Syndicates
Story by Eugene Nyarko Jnr. l Accra l Friday, February 20, 2026 —
The National President of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG), Mr. Paul Kwabena Amaning, has called for the immediate dismissal of some customs officials over what he describes as their alleged complicity in the large-scale smuggling of palm oil into the country.
Speaking in a press interview during the Ghana Tree Crops Investment Summit and Exhibition, 2026, at the Accra International Conference Centre, Mr. Amaning alleged that syndicates are smuggling significant quantities of palm oil from Togo into Ghana without paying taxes.
According to him, about 44,000 gallons of palm oil were transported from the Togo border into the country without interception until the truck carrying the consignment was involved in an accident at the Tema Roundabout. He claimed the driver attempted to evade arrest after suspecting he had been detected, but in the process lost control, causing the truck to overturn and expose the smuggled cargo.
Mr. Amaning questioned how a truck reportedly loaded with about 2,000 gallons of oil could pass through multiple border checkpoints from Togo to Accra without being stopped.
“You claim to have about four borders, yet a fully loaded truck drives through all of them without arrest until it crashes in Accra,” he stated, describing the situation as “daylight robbery.”
He insisted that investigations alone were insufficient and demanded the immediate dismissal of implicated officers before any further inquiries. He argued that if customs officials were not complicit, the government should publicly sack them to demonstrate independence and transparency.
The OPDAG President further proposed that government should seize trucks used in smuggling operations and confiscate the palm oil. He suggested that the seized oil be sold to the association at a discounted rate to be released into buffer stock as a deterrent to smugglers.
“If the products are resold to the same syndicates at discounted prices, we will not make progress as an industry,” he cautioned.
Mr. Amaning also alleged that Ghana’s market is currently flooded with approximately 400,000 metric tonnes of smuggled palm oil — equivalent to more than 10 million gallons — which he said is severely affecting local producers.
He referenced President John Dramani Mahama’s reported plan to invest $500 million in the oil palm industry, stressing that if the funds are provided as loans, industry players would be responsible for repayment and therefore cannot compete with untaxed, smuggled products.
“We are very serious as an industry. If we are expected to repay loans, we cannot sit and watch syndicates bring in palm oil to sell cheaply without paying tax,” he said.
He urged authorities to intensify enforcement efforts within markets where the products are allegedly being sold, rather than focusing solely on road interceptions.
