Immigration officers trained in combating migrants smuggling

Sixty Immigration Officers, drawn from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, have undergone training on how to combat migrant smuggling and other forms of irregular migration.

The resource persons took the officers through topics including Concept and Categories of Migrant Smuggling and Related Conduct, Investigative Techniques, Intelligence Training, Document Fraud and Imposter Detection, Covet and Overt Investigations and International Cooperation.

Speaking at the closing ceremony on Wednesday, Mr Faisal Disu, Upper East Regional Acting Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), said the six-day training programme was sponsored by the Thematic Programme on Migration and Asylum, under the European Union.

He said smuggling, according to Article Three of the UN Protocol, “is the procurement in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a state of which that person is not a national or a legal resident.”

Mr Disu said Ghana was a signatory to the UN Protocol Convention and GIS had moved on further to promulgate a law that criminalized this Act that was the “Immigration Amendment Act 848 of 2012”.

He said:“It is to make this law more effective that the GIS, through the Thematic Programme, is training all of its officers, especially those at the boarders, to enable them to appreciate the impact of illegal immigrations and to help curb the menace.”

Mr Disu said as part of the package, the Thematic Programme had supported the GIS to establish Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking Units at GIS Head quarters in Accra, Aflao, Elubo, Paga and Kulungugu.

Mr Disu entreated the officers to endeavour to put the knowledge acquired to use at their respective stations to help curb the menace which was becoming a big source of worry to the nation.

Source: GNA