19 stowaways arrested at Takoradi Port

A total of 19 stowaways have been arrested at the port of Takoradi in the first half of this year alone.

The increase in the number of stowaways at the port is attributed to the organised and sophisticated manner in which a syndicate comprising some security personnel of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, tally clerks of the various shipping lines and some kingpins outside operate in the port.

The syndicate according to the police extort various sums of monies from the suspects before aiding them to get onboard vessels destined for Europe and the Americas.

This the police and port authorities explain has the tendency to affect the revenue streams of the port as it risks losing millions of cedis to the stowaway activities

Director of Marine, Railways and Ports at the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Seidu Lansa Iddi exposing the modus operandi of the suspects said they usually use a long bamboo with a metal on top to climb vessels that arrive at the Takoradi port.

According to him, some suspects who were arrested on Tuesday at the port for an attempted stowaway, six in number include Joseph Ackon 35, Isaac Quainoe, Francis Kwoffie 26, John Afful 26, the rest are Charles Eshun 23 and Ebenezer Prah 25.

He said the suspects will be put before a Takoradi circuit court to face charges of conspiracy to commit a crime to wit, stowaway contrary to section 23(1) of the criminal procedure code and stowaway contrary to section 179(1) of the shipping Act 645/2003

He noted that the stowaway group has formed a syndicate who are made up of Kweku Egyir 31mechanic, Peter Armah 28 porter, Douglas Ackon 55 facilitator, Obed Asamaoah Mintah 32, a tally clerk, Gabriel Agbeme 31, Robert Kofi Kwamina 48, a security man, Philip Mensah 38, Papa Amissah 51, and Matthew Koomson 39.

The syndicated group MyNewsGh.com was told, recruits potential young men, who want to travel outside the country to Europe or America by aiding and facilitating their travel through stowaway on vessels that berth inside the Takoradi Port.

A case in point is the arrest of one Douglas Ackon and Peter Armah both residents of Essaman near Sekondi who work at the Port as Dock laborers; they collected an amount of Two Thousand Seven Hundred Cedis (GHC 2,700) from one Alex Abeka under the pretext of assisting him to travel to Europe.

They managed to get access to the Port and boarded the vessel with the assistance of two security personnel. Also, some Tally Clerks of some shipping companies are alleged to be the facilitators and accomplices as they identify and arrange for containers for the stowaways.

They actually supervise their entry into these containers, seal them to avoid detection and ensure they get to their destinations. These groups are the same people who facilitated the stowaway of thirteen (13) people earlier in the year.

ACP Seidu Lansah Iddi is advocating for stiffer punishment for the suspects when they are presented at the courts for prosecution to serve a deterrent and motivate the law enforcing agencies.