By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Koforidua, Feb 11, GNA – The International Justice Mission (IJM) has commended the Police Command, the Department of Social Welfare and the State Attorney in the Eastern Region for working tirelessly towards finding justice for trafficked victims.
In a press statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, the IJM, noted that 24 children were rescued by the police and nine human traffickers arrested at Edrekpota in the Eastern Region.
The victims indicated they were deprived of education, and proper health care, and rather were engaged in fishing activities at Edrekpota, a village on the Dedja island.
Currently, most of the survivors, according to the statement, have been integrated into long-term care at various shelter homes by the help of the Department of Social Welfare.
Meanwhile, the IJM, stated that three of the nine arrested suspects were prosecuted and sentenced in a Koforidua Circuit Court on three counts and were charged Gh¢6,000 as compensation to the victims and a fine of the same amount.
“A Koforidua circuit court sentenced three human traffickers each to terms of 8 years each for human trafficking and two years for exploitative child labour and engaging a child in hazardous work to be served concurrently,” it stated.
In the first count, the statement also noted that the suspects were accused of transporting two victims by boat from Dzogbekorpe in the Volta Region to Edrekpota.
The suspects, again, in the second and third counts, the IJM stated were accused of transporting six victims from Ningo Ahwiram with the consent of their guardians, adding, “the third accused in addition paid a sum of money to the victims”.
The suspects, the IJM said, were charged separately under Section (2) 1 and (2) of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694) as amended by the Human Trafficking Amendment Act (2009) Act 784.
Also, they were charged under, “Section 87 and 91 (2) (3) of the Children’s Act 1998 Act 560 as amended by the Children’s (Amendment) Act 2016, Act 937, respectively”, IJM stated
The statement recounted, “In 2019, the Eastern Regional Police Command acted upon intelligence that the accused persons had trafficked several boys between the ages of 6 and 16 for exploitation by engaging in fishing.”
The police together with the Department of Social Welfare, therefore, embarked on a rescue mission where nine suspects were arrested.
After three years of court hearings, three of the nine who trafficked eight of the 24 rescued victims were prosecuted and sentenced after failing to open their defence.
The International Justice Mission, a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence partners and supports authorities in Ghana to combat human trafficking by equipping institutions and law enforcement agencies to investigate and respond to trafficking cases.
GNA