More than 170 suspected criminals, including illegal miners and foreigners, have been arrested by security personnel in a joint operation along the borders of five regions in the Northern enclave.
The operation, which started on Monday, November 18, 2019, to date, and code named “Koudanlgou III”, led to the retrieval of 108 illegal weapons, including unlicensed locally manufactured and foreign single and double barrel guns.
The exercise, which was aimed at preventing terrorist activities, illegal resource extraction, drug trafficking, dealing in illicit arms, smuggling among other transnational crimes, was carried along the country’s borders at Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East and West regions.
A statement issued and signed by the Minister for National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra, yesterday, stated that that the National Security-led operation was supported by other security agencies and bodies.
It mentioned Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Immigration Service, Customs Division of GRA, the Narcotics Control Board, Forestry Commission, Ghana National Fire Service.
Mr Dapaah said suspects have been detained and exhibits kept for further investigations.
He said that the operation was based on previous agreements under “The Accra initiative’’ where Ghana,Togo,Cote d’Ivoire,Burkina Faso and Benin met in Accra, in September, 2017, to strategise and coordinate efforts of their security and intelligence agencies to curb transnational crimes, including violent extremism.
The minister said other cases recorded as at November 20, 2019, were narcotics, unlawful activities in national forest reserve and fuel smuggling, among others.
Mr Dapaah said security agencies from Ghana and their Togolese counterparts, this month, began a joint security simultaneously along their borders and selected areas within their national territories.
BY TIMES REPORTER
