Some of the suspects
A joint military and police operation in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region has led to the arrest of 13 people believed to be sex workers (prostitutes) from Nigeria.
The security agencies over the weekend conducted the swoop in areas suspected to be the hideout where sex workers usually operate their illegal activities in the metropolis, and were immediately handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for screening.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that most of the girls are being forced to engage in prostitution in order to repay their masters for the ‘expenses’ they claimed to have incurred in bringing them to Ghana.
The Assistant Commissioner of Immigration, Northern Region, E. Kofi Owusu, confirmed that the security team had handed over 13 suspects to the GIS and said they would be screened to ascertain if they were staying in Ghana legally, as well as the circumstances under which they came into the country.
He said preliminary checks showed that most of the sex workers were first timers into the country and said they would be transported to Accra for further investigations.
He said security agencies are determined to clamp down on the masters of these sex workers to deter others from joining the inhumane practice.
Some of the sex workers, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, claimed they were lured into the country with the impression that they were coming to work as sales girls and have other job opportunities.
They indicated that they were made to sleep with men daily and render account to their masters on a daily basis and anytime they failed they were maltreated.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale