The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has effectively apprehended 1,055 persons suspected of migrating to the country from various West African nations. This operation was driven by intelligence and focused on addressing the issue of organized street begging in Accra and Kumasi.
The operation, conducted in the early hours of Saturday, August 29, 2026, aimed to enforce immigration regulations while also identifying individuals who may have been victims of trafficking or exploitation.
The GIS said the individuals detained included 662 minors, 248 females, and 145 males. Several Ghanaian citizens were also taken into custody due to purported connections to networks reportedly engaged in the act.
The operation which was conducted covered recognized street-begging areas.
In Greater Accra, immigration officials operated in locations including Abossey Okai, Sabon Zongo, Madina, Madina Zongo Junction, Ashaiman, and Tema. The initiative in Kumasi included Asawase, Alabar, Akwatia Line, Dagomba Line, Sabon Zongo, Airport Junction, and Aboabo.
The GIS observed that the operation started because of concerns that organized factions would utilize street begging as a means for trafficking, controlling, or taking advantage of unsuspecting immigrants, particularly women and children. The Service said that some juveniles are allegedly trafficked and placed on the streets to solicit money from motorists and passers-by.
The Immigration Service emphasized that the initiative aimed to transcend just removing foreigners from the streets. The underlying objective was to identify and dismantle the networks facilitating organized begging while safeguarding persons who could be victims of trafficking or other exploitative practices.
The operation is also a component of wider immigration enforcement initiatives. GIS reports suggest that undocumented migrants in Ghana are undergoing repatriation procedures to their home nations.
The large number of children among those arrested has also brought the issue of vulnerability into focus. While the GIS has raised concerns about possible trafficking, those claims remain matters for investigation and should not be treated as proof that every person arrested was involved in, or a victim of, trafficking.
The latest exercise therefore combines two issues: immigration enforcement and the protection of vulnerable people.
The effectiveness of the operation will depend not only on removing people from the streets but also on determining their individual circumstances, pursuing any suspected facilitators and ensuring that genuine trafficking victims receive appropriate protection.
GIS says investigations and processing of those arrested are continuing as authorities seek to establish their immigration status and identify possible links to organised begging networks.
