Immigration officer arrested after 2,600 AK-47 rounds seized on Accra–Paga bus
AICO1 Ahmed Abdul Samad, originally from Nalerigu and currently stationed at the Paga Sector Command, was picked up by the Upper East Regional Police Command in connection with the haul.
An officer of the Ghana Immigration Service has been arrested after a large consignment of AK-47 ammunition was intercepted on a commercial bus in the Ashanti Region.
AICO1 Ahmed Abdul Samad, originally from Nalerigu and currently stationed at the Paga Sector Command, was picked up by the Upper East Regional Police Command in connection with the haul.
The case stems from a stop-and-search operation on 26 December 2025 at the Kantanso–Asankare Police Barrier, where officers halted an OA bus, registration GT 5771-18, travelling from Accra towards Paga.
A search of the vehicle uncovered:
2,600 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition concealed in two containers
A tactical gear bag hidden under the driver’s seat containing two bulletproof plates, a black helmet and long tactical boots
Additional items, including an electric diffuser, a disco bulb and another ballistic helmet
The driver, Kwame Afram, and his mate, Godfred Essel, were immediately detained as investigators worked to trace the origin and intended destination of the consignment.
Police enquiries later led to Immigration officer Samad, who was arrested in Paga. During questioning, he is reported to have denied any criminal intent, insisting that the tactical gear was his personal property.
He is said to have explained that after being transferred in June 2025 from his previous role as a dispatch rider at the Tema Regional Immigration Headquarters to Paga, he left some of his equipment in Accra and asked a colleague, identified only as “Isaac” at GIS Headquarters, to send on his “old black long boot and body armour plate”.
However, the discovery of thousands of assault-rifle rounds alongside the gear has raised serious doubts among investigators, who are now probing whether the alleged colleague exists and whether the officer’s belongings were used as a cover for a more sophisticated arms-trafficking operation.
The arrest comes at a time of heightened security, as the Ministry of the Interior has set a 15 January 2026 deadline for the voluntary surrender or regularisation of illegal firearms.
The movement of such a large quantity of ammunition towards the northern corridor via Walewale and Paga has triggered concern about possible supply to criminal networks or armed groups operating across the border.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command and the Upper East Regional Command are now coordinating a joint probe to establish the source of the 2,600 rounds and to identify any additional suspects linked to the shipment.
