Businessman granted bail for alleged human trafficking

The Managing Director of Ibadams Ghana Travel and Tours Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Adams, 28, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢20,000.00 with two sureties, for alleged human trafficking and exploitation.

The accused person, who is a businessman based in Kwesimintsim, a suburb of Takoradi, was charged with the offence by a Takoradi Circuit court on Tuesday.

He pleaded not guilty to the offence and would re-appear before the court on Wednesday, November 11, for further hearing.

Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. Richard Boatey, told the court, presided over by her ladyship Mrs. Rita Duku that the complainant was a statistician at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) whose sister, Hajaratu Issaha, 28, was trafficked to the Gulf country of Kuwait to work as a driver with a promise of a lucrative salary in July this year.

However, when Hajara arrived in Kuwait, her passport was seized and she was sold out as a housemaid. She was made to work for 24 hours without rest, while her allowances were paid to an agent of the travel agency.

In view of the drudgery of work, Hajara fell sick and called Adams on phone and pleaded with him to assist her to return to Ghana, but he ignored her request.

The prosecutor said Issaha therefore pleaded with one Mohammed Nawfer Abdul Latif, the Agent in Kuwait, who received her allowances, to assist her return home.

The agent called Issaha’s relatives in Ghana and demanded $2,000 from them before she would be released.

Issaha’s brother lodged a complaint with the police in Ghana and on November 2, this month, and Adams was subsequently arrested by the police.

The police conducted a search in his office and discovered that the accused person had so far trafficked six persons to Kuwait and Dubai through his travel agency, which had not been registered by the Registrar General’s Department to operate.

Source: GNA