480 Burkinabe and Nigerian nationals have been arrested in the Upper East Region in a swoop for illegally residing in the country.
The Sunday dawn swoop was conducted in Bolgatanga and some parts of the region by the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service.
The arrest follows a huge public outcry over the influx of foreigners into the region in the wake of rising violent crimes.
The foreigners per information available are said to have been lured into the country with the hope of getting well-paying jobs.
They’re often seen in their numbers in many suburbs of Bolgatanga and Navrongo with some staying in uncompleted structures.
The Public Affairs Officer of the upper east regional police command, ASP David Fianko Okyere explained to dreamzfmonline.com that the swoop was conducted on Sunday morning upon confirmation through intelligence gathering that the complaints by residents that many foreigners had arrived in their large numbers and living in rented apartments in their numbers were true.
He disclosed that the Burkinabes will be handed over to the Burkinabe authorities while the Nigerian nationals will be taken to the national capital, Accra.
“Residents of Bolgatanga have raised concerns about the influx of foreigners into the city and we picked other intelligence that, that information is correct and so this morning we conducted intelligence patrols and swoops in some locations in the regional capital and other parts of the region and we arrested 480 Nigerians and Burkinabes. You know that our borders are closed so we’re now interrogating them to find out how they were able to enter this country.
Those who are Burkinabes, because we are closer to them, obviously, we will want to hand them over to the Burkinabe authorities at the border but that will be done by the Immigration Service but the Nigerians they will be sent to the Immigration headquarters in Accra,” he disclosed in a telephone interview.
