Vigilant Immigration Officers at the Paga Border Post have arrested a Chinese national and his Ghanaian accomplices as they attempted smuggling firearms into the country.
The suspects were in a Burkina Faso registered Toyota Rav4 car numbered 0919G203. Upon reaching the Ghana side of the border, according to a statement from the Ghana Immigration Service headquarters, “they attempted to evade Immigration control by speeding off. Inspector Ebenezer Badu and AICO I Charles Taali, who were on duty, gave them a hot chase which led to the interception and arrest of Mr. Zhou Quan, the Chinese; and Mr. Awato Kwame, his Ghanaian accomplice.”
A search conducted on the vehicle revealed two Chinese pump action guns (Golden Eagle), eleven packs of body armour bags, two jack knives, fifteen electronic gold scales, three phones, one pack of suspected gold ore, GH¢147,160.00, CFA51,000.00 and USD330.00.
The suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigations.
Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of Immigration (CGI), Kwame Asuah Takyi (Esq), has directed all commanders to tighten security at the country’s borders and beef up patrols at all unapproved routes to ensure that illegal entries and exits are brought down to the barest minimum.
The CGI has also directed commanders to operationalise their community engagement strategies with border community members as a further step of reducing the involvement of community members in illegal crossings and receiving their collaboration in the fight against migration-related crimes.
The Ghana Immigration Service called on the public, especially foreign nationals who desire to visit Ghana, to obey Ghana’s Immigration regulations, adding that “any breach would lead to prosecution.”
As the agency of state mandated to protect Ghana’s borders, the Service will not relent on its responsibilities but will strictly enforce the law, the CGI stated.