AUHTORITIES in Ghana have arrested three Indian nationals suspected of running a longstanding gold smuggling syndicate believed to have moved tonnes of the precious metal out of the country over more than a decade, according to the state gold trading regulator.
The suspects, aged 35, 22 and 42, were taken into custody in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, where investigators uncovered an illegal gold trading operation at their residence. They were found in possession of 4.363 kilogrammes of gold, GH₵1.9 million (about $134,000), 4,500 Indian rupees ($53), two money counting machines, a CCTV recorder and an Indian passport, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) said on Tuesday.
The trio pleaded guilty at their initial court appearance and will remain in detention until a further hearing scheduled for May 12, a spokesperson for GoldBod, Prince Kwame Minkah, told Reuters.
The arrests come amid a wider government effort to curb rampant gold smuggling, which has cost Ghana and other African nations billions of dollars in lost revenues annually. Gold is one of Ghana’s top exports, but authorities have struggled to control illicit trade, particularly involving small-scale mining.
New regulatory body leads crackdown
The case marks a high-profile test of Ghana’s newly launched GoldBod, a regulatory body set up in March 2025 to centralise gold purchasing from small-scale miners. The initiative aims to improve earnings for local miners while restricting smuggling by requiring foreign buyers to source all gold through official GoldBod channels.
According to the regulator, the arrested individuals failed to provide valid residence permits, work authorisations, or evidence of tax payments tied to their operations in Ghana.
‘Much of the smuggled gold is exported to India, China and the United Arab Emirates and we lose,’ Minkah said, attributing the crackdown to a broader push to protect Ghana’s gold resources and revenue base.
Ghana targets illicit exports to Asia and Gulf
GoldBod stated on social media platform X that smuggling routes from Ghana primarily feed into markets in India, China and the UAE, where demand for the metal remains strong. The regulator has pledged to intensify its enforcement operations and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to dismantle illegal trading networks.
Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer after South Africa, has in recent years been ramping up its efforts to formalise the small-scale mining sector, which accounts for a significant share of national output but often operates outside regulatory oversight.
The arrests in Kumasi underscore the challenges that persist despite ongoing reforms. Analysts say that while GoldBod’s establishment represents a step in the right direction, success will depend on consistent enforcement and regional cooperation to stem cross-border smuggling.
The three suspects remain in custody as authorities continue investigations.
