The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, has arrested 49 Nigerian nationals in Accra on allegations of involvement in human trafficking and cybercrime.
During the operation, 70 laptops, 2 saloon vehicles, 51 mobile phones, 9 internet modems, and other devices were retrieved from their hideout. There were 49 suspects, 47 men and 2 women, whose ages varied from 18 to 34. The security services arrested them after gathering information on their activities.
On May 24, 2023, EOCO released a statement saying, “The said individuals were suspected to have been involved in human trafficking and cyber-crime related activities. In all, seventy (70) laptop computers, two (2) saloon cars, fifty-one (51) mobile phones, nine (9) internet modems and other gadgets were recovered from their hideout during the operation. parts of the statement reads
According to the report, the rescued victims have been returned to their relatives in Nigeria, and the four suspects responsible for their predicament, Godstine Omoruyi, Junior Nosa Omoruyi, Marvelous Omoruyi, and Evbuomwan Idowu, were brought before a judge.
“Following the arrest and subsequent screening of the suspects, it came to light that forty-five (45) of the individuals were victims of human trafficking whilst four (4) were the traffickers. The rescued victims have been repatriated to Nigeria to reunite with their families while the four (4) traffickers namely; Godstine Omoruyi, Junior Nosa Omoruyi. Marvelous Omoruvi and Evbuomwan Idowu have been arraigned before the court.”
The agency made the arrests after receiving information indicating that a group of young Nigerians had been smuggled to Ghana.
The victims were led to Ghana with the promise of employment, only to be forced into participating in criminal activity online once they arrived. The traffickers also used physical abuse and torture techniques to force their victims to comply with their demands.
