Three Indian men have been arrested by the Ghana Gold Board security taskforce in Kumasi for allegedly engaging in illegal gold trading and smuggling activities.
The suspects, Goutam Katriya, 35, Miraj Sarvaych, 22, and Manash Damani, 42; were picked up from a residence near Atinga Junction, which had been turned into an illegal gold trading hub.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the Ghana Gold Board announced that the suspects appeared before the Achimota Circuit Court and have been remanded into National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) custody until May 12, 2025.
According to the Director of Investigations at National Security, Chief Superintendent Osman Alhassan, the arrest followed a tip-off from a concerned citizen. The suspects were allegedly buying gold at black market prices with the aim of smuggling it out of the country.
A search of their premises revealed over GHS 1.9 million, 4,500 Indian rupees, 4.36 kilograms of gold, counting machines, a CCTV recorder, and an Indian passport. None of the suspects could produce valid licenses, work permits, or tax records.
Despite operating in Ghana for over ten years, they lacked any legal documentation for their business activities.
The suspected gold smugglers, believed to be working under Unique MM, a company fronted by a Ghanaian named Musah Salifu, is suspected of using the business to smuggle gold to India through unapproved routes. Investigators believe Goutam Katriya is the actual owner of the company.
Meanwhile, the GoldBod has warned all foreign nationals in the gold trade to exit the market by April 30, 2025, and instructed all gold dealers to trade only in Ghana cedis at Bank of Ghana rates. Any violation, the Board said, would attract severe penalties under the new GoldBod Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
