The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service, in collaboration with the NGO Challenging Heights, has rescued 42 victims of human trafficking who were forced into commercial sex work.
The operation, carried out in parts of the Western North Region, exposed disturbing cases involving victims aged between 13 and 17, including a 14-year-old girl who, despite being pregnant, was still forced to engage in commercial sex.
On a typical day, the girls had to sleep with between 10 and 20 men to meet their daily target of between GHS 1,000 and GHS 1,500 or risk being starved and sometimes subjected to various forms of physical abuse.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Challenging Heights, James Kofi Annan, the victims were recruited from economically disadvantaged communities in Nigeria and transported to Ghana under deceptive job offers.
Following their rescue, 36 of the victims have been referred to the Challenging Heights Anti-Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Centre for care and support, while the remaining individuals are assisting police with ongoing investigations.
The organisation says the latest operation forms part of continued efforts in 2025 to combat trafficking networks, noting that more than 200 victims have been rescued this year alone through joint interventions with security agencies.
Mr. Annan described human trafficking as a persistent cross-border challenge requiring stronger cooperation between Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities, as well as increased support for law enforcement agencies.
“I will like to call on the Nigerian government to look at addressing this issue of its citizens being trafficked into Ghana. It is becoming a worrying trend where every year, hundreds of Nigerians are trafficked into Ghana and many of them forced into prosecution and cyber crime,” he stated.
He further called for enhanced collaboration to address the broader factors enabling trafficking networks to operate within vulnerable communities.
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