The Denu Circuit Court in the Volta Region has sentenced a 40-year-old Ghanaian driver, Amos Kojo Andrews, also known as “Adebayo,” to five years in prison for human trafficking-related offences.
Andrews was convicted on six counts, comprising three counts of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and three counts of human trafficking.
The court imposed a five-year prison term on each of the six counts, but directed that the sentences run concurrently. As a result, Andrews will serve an effective five-year prison sentence.
The court also ordered that he be transferred to the Ho Central Prison to serve his sentence.
The case followed investigations into the recruitment and movement of Nigerian women through Ghana using deceptive promises of employment.
According to the case presented before the court, one of the victims was transported from Nigeria into Ghana after arrangements were made for her journey.
She was later taken towards the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire border, where she was allegedly informed that the work she had been promised involved prostitution.
The woman resisted the arrangement and was subsequently returned to Elubo.
Investigators said Andrews later arranged temporary employment for the woman while seeking to recover the cost of her transportation from her earnings.
The case came to the attention of security authorities after a passenger reportedly overheard a suspicious telephone conversation concerning arrangements to move the victim back to Aflao.
The passenger subsequently alerted security officials, leading to Andrews’ arrest when he went to receive the woman at the Aflao station.
Investigations continued after his arrest, with a joint team from the Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Ghana Immigration Service, the Aflao Sector Command and the National Intelligence Bureau conducting a search of Andrews’ residence.
During the operation, the authorities rescued another Nigerian woman.
Investigators told the court that the second woman had also been recruited with promises of employment abroad but was later allegedly informed that she would be sent to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for prostitution.
The court, in delivering its judgment, found that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to establish the elements of both human trafficking and conspiracy to commit human trafficking.
The court further found that the defence had failed to displace the prosecution’s evidence, which included admissions and inconsistencies.
Following the conviction, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration Mark Asamoah-Boakye urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities that could help security agencies identify and prosecute people involved in human trafficking.
He said public cooperation was important in protecting people who may be lured by promises of employment but subsequently find themselves in exploitative situations.
The Ghana Immigration Service has continued to work with other security agencies to identify trafficking activities and protect potential victims, particularly along Ghana’s borders and major transit routes.
Andrews will now serve his five-year sentence at the Ho Central Prison following the court’s order.
Source: Thepressradio.com
