The Tema District Court has sentenced two foreign nationals to 18 months imprisonment each after they were found guilty of engaging in human trafficking and romance scamming.

The two, identified as John Moore, 20, and Charles Bruce, 21, both Nigerians, were found guilty after their arrest and prosecution by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

The sentences will run concurrently.

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According to a report by graphic.com.gh on August 12, their arrests followed an operation conducted by the Ashaiman Command of the GIS, during which two victims identified as Joseph Atungwa and Cletus Tom Emmanuel were rescued.

The victims had allegedly been lured into Ghana with promises of lucrative jobs by a kingpin, only to be handed over to the convicts for training in online fraud.

The victims have since been repatriated.

In a related case, the same court also convicted three other foreign nationals for falsifying information in order to acquire Ghanaian documents for passport application.

Yusuf Mohammed, 26, a Nigerian radiographer, Mohammed Ogbona, 32, a Nigerian factory worker and Nalvine Anne Fonjong, 31, a Cameroonian trader were arrested at the Tema Passport Application Centre when they presented Ghanaian birth certificates and identity cards in an attempt to obtain Ghanaian passports.

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The court sentenced them to 10 years, 15 years, and six months, respectively.

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), in a statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ACI) Michael Amoako-Atta, said it has intensified operations to curb cross-border human trafficking and other immigration-related offences.

It reminded the public that human trafficking and online romance scamming are serious crimes punishable by law.

The statement further cautioned foreign nationals against using unlawful means to acquire Ghanaian citizenship, urging them to contact the nearest immigration office for assistance.

AS/VPO

Meanwhile, watch the trailer to GhanaWeb’s yet-to-air documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures below: