GIS secure convictions in human trafficking and passport fraud cases

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has successfully prosecuted five foreign nationals for offences relating to human trafficking, romance scams, and passport fraud.

In the first case, the Ashaiman Immigration Command rescued two victims — identified as Joseph Atungwa and Cletus Tom Emmanuel — who had been trafficked into Ghana under the guise of securing lucrative employment.

Investigations revealed that a kingpin had lured the victims before handing them over to two Nigerian nationals, John Moore, 20, and Charles Bruce, 21, for training in online fraud. Both men were convicted and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment each, to run concurrently.

In a separate operation, the Tema Passport Application Centre arrested three individuals for attempting to fraudulently obtain Ghanaian passports using falsified documents.

The suspects — Yusuf Mohammed, 26, a Nigerian radiographer; Mohammed Ogbona, 32, a Nigerian factory worker; and Nalvine Anne Fonjong, 31, a Cameroonian trader — were found to have forged information to acquire Ghanaian birth certificates and identity cards.

They were convicted by the Tema District Court and sentenced to 10 years, 15 years, and six months’ imprisonment respectively.

The GIS has reminded all foreign nationals that Ghanaian citizenship can only be acquired through lawful means and warned that anyone attempting to circumvent the law will be arrested and prosecuted.

The Service reaffirmed its commitment to strictly enforcing immigration laws to safeguard national security and promote socio-economic development.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith