*Operatives in Ivory Coast, the world鈥檚 biggest cocoa grower again, seize 594 tonnes of smuggled cocoa beans, following the security procedures initiated at the start of the cocoa harvest season October 2024, which has also led to arrest of 34 suspects over false declarations to pay less tax on their product shipments

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

In a bid to strengthen its measures at curbing illegal trade of its cash crop, Ivory Coast, the world鈥檚 biggest cocoa grower, seized 594 tonnes of smuggled cocoa beans.

The authorities said the security operations initiated at the start of the cocoa harvest season October 2024 had also led to the arrest of 34 suspects.

Fid猫le Sarassoro, Executive Secretary of the National Security Council, who noted this development late Thursday, April 17, 2025, confirmed the confiscation of 鈥渉eavy machinery” from the smugglers of the country’s Cocoa beans.

绿帽献妻 reports that Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is usually smuggled over Ivory Coast’s western border to Guinea and Liberia, where cross-border product smugglers pay above the local farm gate price for the commodity.

Earlier February this year, Ivory Coast Customs seized 2,000 tonnes of falsely declared cocoa beans worth about $19 million at its main port in Abidjan, two customs sources and a judicial source said.

In the incident, Ivorian Customs had discovered that a cocoa exporter made a false declaration to pay less tax on the shipment at the seaport.

The authorities seized 110 containers that, according to the document, were supposed to contain rubber, a customs officer familiar with the case told Reuters.

Another officer reportedly said: “To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve made such a seizure. 2,000 tons, or around 15 million pounds, is a huge amount.”

The tax on that shipment should have been 19.5 percent, including the 14.5 percent tax on cocoa exports and the 5 percent registration tax, report said.

In that case, the Ivorian state would have collected 2.9 million Pounds in taxes.

A source close to the judicial authorities in the country said the fraud was possible due to the high level of corruption in the administration and the complicity of various departments.

A prosecutor close to the case also disclosed “we seized this case … and we are still investigating.

“We can’t say anything at the moment.”

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