Police bust businessman for child trafficking

A 30-year old self-styled businessman based in Takoradi is in the grips of the police for allegedly trafficking 50 teenage girls between ages 18 and 30 to Kuwait for domestic servitude.

Emmanuel Asare and his accomplices lured the parents of the victims with a promise of securing better employment for them in Germany but ended up dumping them in the Gulf country of Kuwait as cleaners, house maids and shop attendants while some were engaged as prostitutes by their masters.

The syndicate had been undertaking this illegal deal for the past two years with some of the victims being recruited from Sunyani, Kumasi, Kasoa, Accra and other remote villages across the country, with the latest victims being transported in February and March this year.

Asare was arrested on August 3 at his hideout at Fijai Hill upon a tip-off.

Police retrieved a number of items from him including 21 Ghanaian passports, recruitment forms, medical examination reports of some victims, police criminal clearance forms and GH¢1,000.00.

He was arraigned before a Takoradi circuit court and granted bail to re-appear on Wednesday, October 15. However, the rest of the syndicates are on the run while police investigations continue.

Narrating the modus operandi of the syndicate to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, Takoradi District Police Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Obeng Dickson, said the accused secured visas for the victims and entered into contract with them to pay back the cost of traveling expenses after they had secured jobs in Europe.

He then sent them to a member of the syndicate, Adu Boahen at Kasoa, for onward flight to Germany.

However, Adu Boahen deceived them that they would transit through Kuwait to Germany.

Therefore, on reaching Kuwait, one Abraham took the victims to a hotel and seized their passports, mobile phones and other travelling documents with an excuse of securing transit visas for them in order to travel to Germany but rather scouted for prospective buyers.

After he had secured buyers, he bargained for a two-year contract and took undisclosed sums of money and released them to their masters for domestic servitude.

However, in August this year, Theresa Mensah, one of the victims, hid her phone in her private part and managed to call the parents in Ghana and narrated their ordeal.

Subsequently, the parents of Theresa, Mr Philip Mensah and Madam Ruth Kwofie, reported the case to the Takoradi Central Police leading to the arrest of Emmanuel Asare.