The Sekondi District Court B on Friday, October 20, 2023, presided over by Her Honour, Araba Nunoo (Esq), has sentenced each of the 24 suspects to a fine of one thousand Ghana cedis (Ghc 1000.00) and, in default, a six-month prison term.
The suspects were arrested during a swoop by the Ghana Immigration Service in the Ellembele District and the Nzema East Municipality in the Western Region.
The suspects convicted in their plea were charged with illegal entry and illegal stay, contrary to sections 20 clause 1 and 52 clause 1d of the Immigration Act 2000, Act 573.
The Western Regional Legal Officer for the Ghana Immigration Service, Chief Superintendent Samuel Bilson, being the leader of the prosecution team, managed to secure deportation orders for all 24 suspects.
Eight of the convicts have managed to redeem their fines, giving way to administrative processes leading to their deportation back to their home country in earnest.
The other sixteen convicted prostitutes have since been taken into custody by Sekondi Central Prison to begin their sentences.
Meanwhile, the service is in the process of repatriating two (2) of the suspects, who were identified during the investigations as having been trafficked, back to their home country to be united with their families.
Additionally, two nursing mothers, together with the three (3) main suspects, Mr and Mrs Okereke, all Nigerians, and a Ghanaian, Mr Kofi Bekoe, have been granted inquiry bail to enable the Service to finish its investigations on them.
The Western Regional Command of the Service, in a press release, expressed its profound gratitude to all stakeholders, especially those who continue to volunteer credible information leading to such arrests and successful prosecutions.
