The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has dismantled a suspected cyber fraud syndicate in Dawhenya, rescuing 85 victims of human trafficking and arresting 17 foreign nationals in an intelligence-led operation.
According to a statement by Maud Anima Quainoo, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration in charge of Public Affairs, officers of the GIS National Enforcement Team raided a facility opposite the China West Mall in the early hours of Sunday, 26 July 2026.
The premises are reportedly owned by one Oga Toyas, Chief Executive Officer of TOYAS Group Limited.
The operation followed a tip-off from residents in the area who raised concerns about alleged criminal activities at the location.
Acting on the intelligence, a team led by Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI) Atubga Elijah secured the premises and intercepted a total of 102 West African nationals.
Preliminary investigations showed that 85 of those found, 79 males and six females, were victims of human trafficking and forced labour.
The remaining 17 are suspected members of the cyber fraud syndicate and were also living in Ghana illegally.
Officers reported clear signs of serious physical abuse, particularly among the male victims, who were being forcefully manhandled and kept in appalling conditions.
Twenty-three people, made up of the six female victims and the 17 principal suspects, are currently being held at the GIS Headquarters in Accra for further interrogation and profiling.
The 79 male victims have been moved to a secure GIS holding facility while the service works with other state agencies to arrange their safe repatriation to their home countries.
The main kingpins were not present during the raid, and investigations are continuing to track down those believed to be behind the network.
The operation was carried out under the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), which criminalises the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of persons through force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. Convictions under the Act attract a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
In a related operation, the Ashaiman Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service, acting on requests from the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly and the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), conducted a compliance exercise in the Tsina–Agbe area on Monday, 27 July 2026.
About 93 Nigerian women, aged between 15 and 44, were detained on suspicion of being brought into Ghana for commercial sex work.
They have since been transferred to a secure GIS facility pending arrangements for their repatriation to Nigeria.
The Ghana Immigration Service says it remains committed to protecting the country’s borders, tackling irregular migration, dismantling transnational criminal networks and safeguarding victims of human trafficking.
