Customs Excise and Preventive Service [CEPS], Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, in the early hours of Tuesday, arrested 24 Nigerians for allegedly entering the country through unapproved routes.
Chief Superintendent, Shadrach Azangweo, South Tongu District Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service, told the Ghana News Agency that the Nigerians are made of 5 females and 19 males.
“None of them has been able to give a good reason for crossing into the country having breached our immigration laws and we intend to send them to Aflao for further investigations,” he said.
He said the immigrants had their temperatures taken during initial investigations, adding that they would likely be quarantined at Aflao.
Azangweo said the immigration service would not allow them to continue their journey and they would all be repatriated after their COVID-19 status so that they do not endanger the lives of other people.
He said the culprits were assisted by ‘Okada’ riders and public transport drivers to the point of arrest.
He warned the drivers and Okada riders, as they continued to facilitate the movement of the West African nationals into the country saying “you will endanger your life and other members of the public for possible infection of the virus.”
“We will advise the public to support this fight since the COVID-19 cases keep increasing. We ask everyone to be vigilant and report any suspicious characters of foreign extraction to us because we cannot do this alone,” he said.
It would be recalled that West Africa’s land borders have been closed for months now since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.