A major police operation in the Upper Denkyira West District has exposed a horrific human trafficking and exploitation ring, leading to the arrest of 39 individuals on charges of alleged prostitution and drug-related offences.
The Central North Regional Police Command, acting on a tip-off, swooped on a location in Nipanekro near Subin, revealing a complex web of modern-day slavery and depravity.
Of the 39 arrested, 33 are female Nigerian nationals, all aged between 16 and 25, who were allegedly forced into prostitution.
The other six individuals arrested in the raid are males suspected of being involved in the drug trade.
In a media briefing, the Central North Regional Police Commander, ACP Abraham Acquaye, shed light on the brutal conditions these young women were subjected to.
The police have reclassified the 33 Nigerian women not as suspects but as “victims of circumstance”.
ACP Acquaye announced that they would be handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for deportation back to their home country, Nigeria.
The victims, in harrowing accounts provided to Adom News’ Alfred Amoh, described a system of forced labour and unspeakable abuse orchestrated by their alleged boss, a woman known as “Mama Rich”.
The young women were allegedly forced to meet demanding daily revenue targets, with failure resulting in a grotesque punishment.
In a shocking revelation, some of the victims told the reporter that “Mama Rich” forced them to “eat her faeces whenever they fail to rake in the daily revenue targets.”
This daily financial quota varied, with a staggering GH¢1,000 target on Mondays and GH¢500 on other days of the week.
The victims also disclosed that they were allegedly made to swear naked at a shrine, a ritual intended to prevent them from escaping their captors.
This deeply spiritual and psychological coercion allegedly tied them to the sex ring with the threat of madness if they attempted to run away.
The police estimate that each of the young women was allegedly forced to sleep with as many as 20 men a day to meet their daily targets.
The six male suspects are believed to have been complicit in the operation, facilitating the business by allegedly engaging in drug dealing.
They remain in police custody pending further investigation.
The raid highlights the complex and often brutal nature of human trafficking, which preys on vulnerable individuals and uses a combination of financial, physical, and spiritual control to maintain its grip.