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Police 57 Nigerians trafficked to the West in Ghana rescued African The country has arrested five people suspected of operating a cybercrime and human trafficking ring, officials said Thursday.
Police raided a building in the suburbs of the capital accra on Wednesday, where victims aged between 18 and 26 were held and forced to participate in online romance scams, the Criminal Investigation Department said in a statement on Thursday.
Police recovered 77 laptops, 38 mobile phones, two vehicles, three television sets and other internet-enabled devices from the building.
The suspects allegedly lured their victims by promising them lucrative jobs and other opportunities in Ghana.
“Upon arrival, the victims, aged between 18 and 26, were forced to engage in online romance scams and other nefarious activities,” police said.
Police said all rescued victims were receiving necessary care and assistance, but did not say when they would be returned to their home countries.
Trafficking of West African nationals to engage in online scams and prostitution remains a common practice in Ghana, despite several police campaigns to crack down on criminals. Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the government agency responsible for enforcing laws on human trafficking, said in a report this year that it made 79 prosecutions and 54 convictions between 2023 and 2024.
last month, Interpol Said it coordinated a crackdown on cybercrime that resulted in the arrest of 260 people suspected in online romance and extortion scams in 14 African countries.
Overall the scams targeted more than 1,400 victims, who lost about $2.8 million, the International Police Organization said.
Ghanaian authorities have arrested 68 suspects in romance and sextortion scams, Interpol said. They are accused of using fake identities to trick victims into paying fake shipment fees and secretly recording explicit videos for blackmail.