Two persons, including a soldier, who allegedly used a military vehicle to smuggle contraband goods into the country have been arrested. The suspects, Warrant Officer Nicholas Adiyiah and his civilian accomplice, Kweku Yeboah, a mechanic, were said to have been arrested on board the vehicle, with registration number 98 GA 27, which was being driven by the soldier. The vehicle contained more than 180 cartons of cigarettes that included brands such as "Gold Seal" and "Business Royal". A third suspect, one Sule, a civilian, is on the run. The vehicle, which was heading towards the southern part of the country, was impounded at Buipe at dawn on Saturday. Briefing the press at the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) Office in Tamale, the Co-ordinator of the Special Operations Unit of the office, Mr Nelson Awudu, explained that the exercise had been carried out upon a tip-off. He said following the information, a team was tasked to move around the various border points where CEPS had stationed some men. Mr Awudu said last Friday the unit received information that a military vehicle was heading towards Cote d'Ivoire through the Bole Border Post. "Our men then laid ambush, while our surveillance team tracked the vehicle to the border post at Bangupe, at the banks of the Black Volta near Balli, where the goods were being loaded into the vehicle," he indicated. He explained that because a military vehicle was involved, "we thought the people in it were probably armed and so we did not get near it at the time". He said the CEPS team monitored the movement of the vehicle throughout its journey in the bush from Bole through Sawla, Damongo to Buipe. According to the co-ordinator, it was when the vehicle got to Buipe that the officer in charge of the Northern Sector of CEPS called for re-enforcement of personnel. The vehicle was eventually intercepted and sent to the CEPS Office in Tamale. On hearing the news of the arrest of a military vehicle, the General Officer Commanding the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces; Brigadier-General Chris Ocran, went to the CEPS Office, where he was briefed on the incident. Brigadier-General Ocran could not tell the Daily Graphic the immediate action to be taken against the suspects but indicated that the case would be treated as a criminal offence and that further investigations would be conducted into it. Earlier, WO Adiyiah, the driver of the impounded vehicle, who said he was due for retirement in a few months time, had told the press that he had signed for the vehicle to pick his personal effects. He claimed that he was later asked by his friend to assist him carry the goods from Bole for a fee. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana