A pre-dawn operation by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in Kumasi has led to the rescue of 606 undocumented migrants, mostly children, from suspected street begging syndicates.
The exercise, carried out by the Ashanti Regional Command at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, targeted high-risk communities including Asawase, Alabar, Akwatia Line, Dagomba Line, Sabon Zongo and Aboabo.
Those picked up comprised 381 children, 72 females and 153 males, many of whom are believed to be victims of human trafficking and are compelled into begging.
The operation forms part of a sustained nationwide campaign by the GIS to clamp down on organised street begging networks, which have seen a rise in major urban centres across Ghana in recent years.
In a related development, the service last week undertook a similar exercise in parts of Greater Accra Region, including Abossey Okai, Nima, Madina and Kaneshie, resulting in the repatriation of 356 foreign nationals to Niger, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
The GIS also indicated that the operations were being conducted in line with its mandate to enforce immigration laws while respecting the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement, stressing that the focus was on illegality and exploitation, not lawful migration.
A statement issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Immigration, Public Affairs Department, Maud Anima Quainoo, disclosed that it collaborated with the Nigerian High Commission in Accra to regularise the status of 89 Nigerian nationals, who were subsequently handed over to anti-trafficking authorities in their home country.
Furthermore, the statement said the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Samuel Basintale Amadu, reaffirms the service’s commitment to combating trafficking and protecting vulnerable persons.
“It said the GIS would continue to balance border security with regional integration obligations,” it mentioned.
The service again reminded the public that the Beggars and Destitute Act, 1969 (NLCD 392) outlaws street begging, with offenders liable to fines, imprisonment of up to three months, or both.
It then urged the public to report suspicious activities involving foreign nationals to the nearest GIS office
.By Times Reporter
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