Customs Illegally Auctioning Vehicles Under Investigation – NAM 1 Cars Rot Away As Customers Languish in Pain

The Director of Operations at National Security, Col. Michael Opoku, has revealed that there is a shady auction of vehicles in the custody of the National Security.

In an exclusive interview with Whatsup News, Col. Opoku named the Customs division of CEPS as perpetrators of the illegality which has resulted in members of the public paying for auction vehicles only for the vehicles to vanish into thin air when they attempt to pick them up.

 “Even if you go there now, some were auctioned, people paid, they can’t see the car,” Col. Opoku revealed.

Among suchlike vanishing cars are vehicles that he said were seized from galamsey operators in 2012 and also some 2019 auction vehicles.

Whatsup New has attempted to reach Col. Kwadwo Damoah, the Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). He refused to respond to telephone calls from Whatsup News, as well as refusing to respond to text messages sent to him.

There are reports that Col. Kwadwo Damoah may be complicit in this nefarious sale of auction vehicles at the ports. 

Meanwhile, Col. Opoku told Whatsup News that there are vehicles in the custody of National Security belonging to Menzgold boss, Nana Appiah Mensah (NAM 1), that are in the custody of the State. “But specifically, I warned them against NAM 1 vehicles; nobody should touch NAM 1 vehicles.”

According to him, due to his warning, all NAM 1 vehicles have been left alone and are all well parked at National Security.

Col. Opoku is however worried that the vehicles may be rotting away, saying he has suggested that the cars be sold and the money put in an escrow account so that after the NAM 1 investigation has been sorted, the money can be paid to his customers.

Some of those customers remain unpaid even after NAM 1 had won his court case against Dubai-based company, Horizon Royal Diamonds, in 2019 and been paid US$39million as a result.

Sources say the money which Nana Appiah Mensah had promised to use to settle victims of his alleged Ponzi gold collectibles company, Menzgold, has been transferred to London, while some government people have engineered a situation where some customers with connections in government are selectively paid, Whatsup News gathered.

In respect of shadily auctioned cars, Col. Michael Opoku said he got to know about them when he was queried over some 15 vanished vehicles attributed to him. He claims he allegedly nothing about those vehicles.

According to him, sometimes, people who have paid for the non-existent vehicles would approach him and ask for the keys for a vehicle that they had paid for at auctions.

The revelation from the Director of Operations of National Security implies there is serious criminality going on at National Security in respect of cars that have been seized for investigation.

Meanwhile, Col. Opoku, a former member of the Board of the Economic and Organized Crimes Office confirms he is under probe by EOCO over some missing 14 vehicles.