Mr Michael P. K. Asumanu, the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Administrator of the COCOBOD who made the call said assets of the smugglers ought to be confiscated too, saying that would serve as deterrent and stem the cocoa smuggling menace in the country.

He said the current five years minimum jail term for convicts was not punitive enough, considering the contribution of the sector to the nation's economic development, calling for an urgent review of the existing laws.

Mr Asumanu made the call in an interview with the media in Sunyani, after the Anti-Smuggling Task Force of the Board intercepted some trucks carrying quantities of cocoa beans at Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa West District of the Bono Region.

The trucks, with registration numbers GR 7237-21, GR-314-24, and AS 5278-23 were allegedly smuggling the 1, 473 bags of cocoa to neighbouring countries of either Togo or Burkina Faso.

Mr Asumanu said smuggling remained inimical to the growth and development of the nation's cocoa sector, saying the nation is denied huge revenue due to activities of the cocoa smugglers.

He urged the media to also contribute to the fight against cocoa smuggling by collaborating effectively with the COCOBOD and also sensitize the public about the consequences of smuggling.