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Ghana arrests three Indian nationals over suspected gold smuggling ring - REUTERS
April 29 (Reuters) - Three Indian nationals have been arrested in Ghana on suspicion of operating a gold smuggling syndicate that authorities believe has been taking tons of the precious metal out of the country for over a decade, the West African country's gold trading regulator said on Tuesday.
The three pleaded guilty at their arraignment and will remain in custody until a court hearing scheduled for May 12, a spokesperson for the regulator GoldBod said.
Ghana and some other African countries have been losing billions of dollars' worth of gold every year due to smuggling.
The country established a new government body known as GoldBod in March to streamline gold purchases from small-scale miners, increase their earnings and reduce the impact of smuggling. Under the new system, foreign companies can only get the precious metal from GoldBod.
The regulator said on X that the suspects - aged 35, 22 and 42 - were apprehended at their residence in Ghana's southern city of Kumasi, which investigators say had been converted into an unauthorised gold trading centre.
