Consumer goods, fuel, gold and cocoa are all crossing the border illegally - it's costing the government billions of dollars - so can it be stopped?
Ed Butler travels to the northern Ghanaian border with Burkina Faso, and hears from cocoa smugglers who are operating in the region.
Produced and presented by Ed Butler
(Image: A livestock market in northern Ghana. Traders, including those pictured, told the BBC they believe some of the livestock is contraband)