18 foreigners to be prosecuted for cybercrime

The police have arraigned eighteen foreigners before the Wa Circuit Court for allegedly entering the country illegally to engage in cybercrime.

The accused, believed to be Nigerians, were arrested after they had duped unsuspecting people of various sums of money and are facing three counts of obtaining electronic medium falsely, possession of illegal devices, and failing to comply with the imposition of a ban on travel into the country.

The suspects are Emmanuel Ogunoyibo, 24; Emmanuel Ukoh, 21; Chigozirim Adindo, 24; Rex Chigozie, 23; Anthony Chukwuma, 25, and Chukwu Chinonso, 22, Simon Daniel Tochukwu, 23; Dickson, 29; Uwazie Christogonus, 22; Joshua Chigozie, 21; Anthony Chukwuma, 28, and Bright Chiadighikaobi, 35.

The rest are Henry I Dey With You, 25; Wisdom Ejmadu, 25; Ekene Okoro, 26; Victor Ejike, 26; Peter Emeka, 20, and Abana Udochukwu, 25.

"The 18 Nigerians claimed they entered the country in April this year through unapproved routes at the time the borders had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Superintendent R.A. Boateng of the Ghana Police Service has said.

According to him, the foreigners traveled to Wa in the Upper West Region where they rented two houses at Dobile, a suburb of Wa, from where they operated their cybercrime activities.

Upon intelligence gathered, a team of security personnel swooped on the two houses in the early hours of Saturday to arrest them.

He said the police retrieved items including 22 laptop computers and their accessories, 11 mobile phones, and a camera which were believed to be used to commit the crime when a search was conducted in their rooms.