A National Security operation has resulted in the arrest of eight Chinese nationals and one Ghanaian linked to the disappearance of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) containers at the Tema Port.

Authorities traced cables, suspected to be part of the missing shipment, to an aluminum smelting facility owned by the Chinese nationals at Shai Hills.

Acting on intelligence, security personnel raided the facility and arrested the suspects as part of the ongoing investigation into the case.

This latest arrest is part of efforts to uncover the circumstances surrounding the ECG container scandal, in which over 1,300 containers loaded with electrical cables and other essential equipment have gone missing.

Energy Minister John Jinapor previously announced that the government would initiate a criminal investigation into the matter.

He stressed the importance of a forensic probe to determine how the containers left the port and where they were taken.

“We will launch a criminal investigation into this matter, a forensic one. We ought to determine where and how those containers were taken out of the port and where they ended up. National security, the ports, clearing companies, ECG itself, and all those in the value chain will come under the radar.

"I'm sure that once we launch that criminal investigation, we'll get to the bottom of it, and the culprits will be brought to book,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking with TV3 on Thursday, March 27, the Minister revealed that 40 of the missing ECG containers had been located at a terminal in Kpone.

He also confirmed the arrest of an Indian national in connection with the case, stating that the suspect claims to have lawfully acquired the containers last year.