The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), through its Ashanti Regional Command, has rescued 606 undocumented migrants during a pre-dawn intelligence-led operation targeting exploitative street begging networks in Kumasi.
The operation, which began at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, focused on several known hotspots, including Asawase, Alabar, Akwatia Line, Dagomba Line, Sabon Zongo, and Aboabo.
According to the GIS, those rescued include 381 children, 153 males, and 72 females.
Authorities believe the majority of the rescued individuals are victims of organised human trafficking and forced begging.
The exercise forms part of a broader nationwide campaign to dismantle coordinated street begging networks operating across Ghana.
A similar operation in the Greater Accra Region on April 15, 2026, led to the safe repatriation of 356 West African nationals to Niger, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso.
The GIS has also collaborated with the Nigerian High Commission in Accra to assist 89 Nigerian nationals in regularizing their documentation and facilitating their handover to anti-human trafficking authorities in Nigeria.
Under the Beggars and Destitute Act, 1969 (NLCD 392), street begging is prohibited for both citizens and non-citizens.
Offenders face a fine, imprisonment of up to three months, or both.
