BENGALURU: What began as a routine overseas business trip to sell traditional herbal products ended in jail for 26 members of Karnataka’s Hakki-Pikki tribal community in Ghana. Days after a separate group was arrested in Chad for alleged visa violations, these 26 tribals — including 12 women from Shivamogga and Davanagere districts — were taken into custody on Wednesday in Tumu, the capital of the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in Ghana’s Upper West Region, for allegedly selling unregistered herbal products. Confirming the development, Karnataka Hakki-Pikki Budakattu Sanghatane President R Puneeth Kumar said, “The tribals arrived in Tumu, the capital town of the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in the Upper West Region of Northern Ghana. All of them were arrested on Wednesday on charges of peddling unregistered herbal products, which is a serious violation of FDA rules in Ghana. All of them are in the custody of the local police. While we are not in direct touch with the arrested tribals, one of our tribals in Ghana is coordinating with them.” According to relatives, local residents alerted the Sisaala East Municipal Police Command about foreigners selling herbal products. “Acting swiftly, the local police first arrested 4 tribals and, based on their inputs, they conducted searches at the locations of these tribals in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) of Ghana and arrested another 22 Indian nationals, all from Karnataka,” Puneeth revealed. Police reportedly seized quantities of herbal products suspected to have been smuggled into the country and sold on the streets. Preliminary investigations suggest that 21 of the arrested had valid work permits, while 5 did not. Local media reported that 12 women and 14 men were among those detained, with some travelling as couples. They toured regions such as Oti, Bono and Upper East to market their products. One of the detainees, Sonia, reportedly told police that they submitted relevant documents to municipal immigration officials upon arrival in Tumu and were cleared for business. She claimed they were unaware that their activities amounted to illegal trade. However, local FDA officials stated that the seized herbal products were not registered and violated Section 118 of Ghana’s Public Health Act, 2012, inviting criminal charges. Puneeth said nearly 250 members of the community are currently in different parts of Ghana. “One of the community members currently staying in Ghana alerted us about the development. I immediately alerted and passed on the information to the Indian Embassy officials in Accra and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The officials assured us that they will look into the issue and connect with the Ghana officials. Every year, several of our community members visit African countries to sell herbal products which are natural, and there is no mandatory clause to register the products. However, Ghana has different rules, and our tribals did not know about this,” he pointed out.Bengaluru: What began as a routine overseas business trip to sell traditional herbal products ended in jail for 26 members of Karnataka’s Hakki-Pikki tribal community in Ghana. Days after a separate group was arrested in Chad for alleged visa violations, these 26 tribals — including 12 women from Shivamogga and Davanagere districts — were taken into custody on Wednesday in Tumu, the capital of the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in Ghana’s Upper West Region, for allegedly selling unregistered herbal products. Confirming the development, Karnataka Hakki-Pikki Budakattu Sanghatane President R Puneeth Kumar said, “The tribals arrived in Tumu, the capital town of the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in the Upper West Region of Northern Ghana. All of them were arrested on Wednesday on charges of peddling unregistered herbal products, which is a serious violation of FDA rules in Ghana. All of them are in the custody of the local police. While we are not in direct touch with the arrested tribals, one of our tribals in Ghana is coordinating with them.” According to relatives, local residents alerted the Sisaala East Municipal Police Command about foreigners selling herbal products. “Acting swiftly, the local police first arrested 4 tribals and, based on their inputs, they conducted searches at the locations of these tribals in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) of Ghana and arrested another 22 Indian nationals, all from Karnataka,” Puneeth revealed. Police reportedly seized quantities of herbal products suspected to have been smuggled into the country and sold on the streets. Preliminary investigations suggest that 21 of the arrested had valid work permits, while 5 did not. Local media reported that 12 women and 14 men were among those detained, with some travelling as couples. They toured regions such as Oti, Bono and Upper East to market their products. One of the detainees, Sonia, reportedly told police that they submitted relevant documents to municipal immigration officials upon arrival in Tumu and were cleared for business. She claimed they were unaware that their activities amounted to illegal trade. However, local FDA officials stated that the seized herbal products were not registered and violated Section 118 of Ghana’s Public Health Act, 2012, inviting criminal charges. Puneeth said nearly 250 members of the community are currently in different parts of Ghana. “One of the community members currently staying in Ghana alerted us about the development. I immediately alerted and passed on the information to the Indian Embassy officials in Accra and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The officials assured us that they will look into the issue and connect with the Ghana officials. Every year, several of our community members visit African countries to sell herbal products which are natural, and there is no mandatory clause to register the products. However, Ghana has different rules, and our tribals did not know about this,” he pointed out.
