The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has announced that a gang of four suspected gold smugglers are on the run and an amount of GH¢1 million has been placed on bounty on each of them, totaling GH¢4 million.
The announcement, made by Chief Executive of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi at a press briefing yesterday Tuesday September 16, 2025 is in conformity with government policy that any person who provides credible information that leads to the arrest of persons involved in the smuggling or illegal trading of gold anywhere in Ghana would be rewarded with 10 percent of the value of the recovered gold or cash value, no matter how huge the quantity of the recovery.
Sammy Gyamfi gave the particulars of the wanted four persons as Rafeeq Mohammed Nandoli A.K.A Salam, Muhammed Afsah Puthalan, Abdul Karim, Sadique Abubakar are at large and said they are being pursued by the Ghana Police Service and the GoldBod Taskforce.
He said the GoldBod has secured arrest warrants for all the four suspects at large.
Members of the general public who may have useful information about the whereabouts of any of the suspects have been entreated to report same to the nearest Police station or the Ghana GoldBod head office, located at the former Bank of Ghana Head Office, High Street, Accra or call any of the following toll-free numbers: 0800 44 653 or 0800 44 654.
Giving further information, the GoldBod Chief Executive said three other suspects have been arrested and placed before court in what has turned out to be the most elaborate gold smuggling case ever uncovered by the GoldBod since its establishment. He said 8.5 kilogrammes of gold valued at more than GH¢10.2 million have been successfully intercepted and recovered by the GoldBod.
Sammy Gyamfi said acting on the intelligence that some foreigners were illegally financing licensed traders to buy gold on their behalf, the GOLDBOD Task Force mounted surveillance around the Winneba Junction in the Central Region, where a vehicle transporting the gold from Tarkwa was intercepted on August 27 and a Guinean courier, Abdul Razak Seidu, was arrested during the operation.
“When he was arrested, we found in his possession three packs of a substance which we suspected to be gold. Upon assay, it was discovered that the substances were indeed gold and they had an average purity of 92.5 per cent and a net weight of 8.5 kilogrammes,” Sammy Gyamfi added.
He said further investigations by the GoldBod Taskforce led to the arrest of Bernard Nkrumah, a Tier 2 licensed gold buyer of the GoldBod who operates in Tarkwa under the business name “NK Benark Enterprise” and one Ibrahim Aremeyaw, a key business associate of Rafmoh Gold Ltd.
Additional investigations then revealed that Rafmoh Gold Limited is the sponsor and mastermind of the gold smuggling syndicate, Sammy Gyamfi disclosed.
“It’s been established through investigations that the company through its officers and several couriers recruited by them, illegally purchased over 100 kilograms of gold, valued at over GHS100 million from NK Bernak Enterprise at Tarkwa over the last two (2) months alone.
“All suspects have been arraigned before the High Court and charged for the offenses of facilitating gold smuggling, smuggling gold, transporting gold without authorization, among other gold related offenses”, the Chief Executive noted.
He said after two weeks of remand into National Investigations Bureau (BNI) custody by the High Court, the three suspects in custody were granted bail but bail conditions are yet to be met.
As part of strict enforcement measures, the GoldBod has suspended the license and closed down the gold trade offices of NK Bernak Enterprise in Tarkwa. The business offices of Rafmoh Jewerly located at Palace Mall in Accra has also been closed by the GoldBod on grounds of its connection to the gold smuggling syndicate of Rafmoh Gold Limited.
Mr Gyamfi said all suspects had been charged with offences including dealing in gold without authorisation, facilitating gold smuggling, transporting gold without authorisation and attempting to smuggle gold.
He disclosed that the Attorney-General, the Deputy Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions were directly involved in the case therefore no stone would be left unturned in making sure that persons found guilty face the full rigors of the law.
Sammy Gyamfi added that the smuggling syndicate was engaged in illegal foreign exchange operations. He said members use cash from smuggled gold to supply dollars in Ghana through a sophisticated black market network.
Sammy Gyamfi warned that all licensed traders must comply strictly with their permit conditions: “We are determined and resolved to enforce the Gold Board Act and other laws of our land without fear or favour. Your political affiliations will not save you. Even if His Excellency, President John Mahama is your father, they will enforce the law,” he added.
