39 Burkinabes; 2 Ghanaians busted for entering Ghana illegally
The Ghana Immigration Service has arrested 41 people for using unapproved routes to enter Burkina Faso.
The suspects comprise 39 Burkinabes who entered Ghana through Cote d’Ivoire at Sampa in the Bono Region. They attempted to make their way to Ghana’s neighbour to the north.
However, they were apprehended in the process at Babile in the Upper West Region.
The country has placed an embargo on international travels and shut all its borders to passengers except cargo, with a partial lockdown on internal movements, after the coronavirus outbreak.
The Upper West Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service, ACI Peter Nkrumah, explained that the suspects would be interrogated and the Burkinabe’s would be released to go back to their country.
The suspects were made of 21 men, 14 women and six children. They were travelling in two Mercedes Benz sprinter vehicles when immigration officials discovered them.
“They were trying to even beat our inland barrier at Babile by using another route that will link them straight to Jirapa and connect to Lawra for them to go to the border and cross through unapproved routes,” ACI Nkrumah explained.
He said they were housed at a residence provided by the district assembly.
He said officials acknowledge “the economic hardship in the subregion, but this (COVID-19) is an enemy we are all fighting and determines to make sure the president’s directive is obeyed”.
On the other hand, the two Ghanaians have been screened and kept in an abode where they will be.
He lamented the lack of logistics and other PPEs and challenged the government to make them available.