Two Chinese nationals have been arrested at Kisseman in the Greater Accra Region, for allegedly producing fake personal protective equipment (PPEs).
The two, a man and his wife were picked up by a joint team from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Achimota Divisional Police Command based on a tip-off.
Head of Drug Market Surveillance Department at the FDA, Edward Prah Ashong, confirming the arrest on Thursday, explained that “it is true we have arrested some Chinese like that and investigations are ongoing.”
“We had information that Chinese in Kisseman were packaging nose masks and hand sanitizers and were sending them to the market so we stormed there with the police around 3:30 pm yesterday Wednesday.”
Mr. Prah Ashong added that the production of the materials was done in large quantities.
“They do them on a large scale. We saw thermometers, hand sanitizers, and nose masks so we asked how they got those items and they said they run an NGO that donates items to communities, hospitals, organizations, among others. So we requested for their documents but they could not produce them readily, so we are waiting for these documents.”
“We also saw an almost 20-footer container parked with some PPEs and they said they were taking them to Burkina Faso but they are not locally made,” he explained.
“The nose masks were imported but as to whether it has been registered is the issue, and also how it got into the country is what we are investigating because some of the nose masks had expired.”
He noted that samples of the PPEs have been sent to the lab for testing because there are standards for the production of PPEs.
“If we establish any criminalities, we will let the police prosecute them because we picked the samples of the nose masks to the lab for testing and if it falls below the standard, we shall prosecute them,” he explained.
Mr. Ashong also added that three Ghanaian workers were spotted in the house during the operation.
“There were three Ghanaian workers; a driver, house help, and security but later, two Ghanaians also came and said they were the owners of the items in the truck.”
Mr. Ashong said the Chinese, who were in their 60s, told them they have been in Ghana for the past 20 years.
“The lady is called Wendy and they claim they have been here for 20 years. They also claim the property they are living in at Kisseman belongs to them because they acquired it three years ago.”
The two have since been granted bail pending further investigations.
