Court Sentences 8 For Stowaway

• Posted on August 1, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

A Takoradi Magistrate Court has handed down various sentences to an eight-member stowaway syndicate operating at the Takoradi Harbor.

The syndicate groups in 2017 succeeded in facilitating the stowaway of some 13 young men to Algiers port in Spain.

Even though they were arrested and deported back to Ghana,  they did not face prosecution neither were they charged with any offense.

Prosecutor Chief Inspector Isaac Mensah Appenteng told the presiding judge His Honor Thomas Offedie that the Marine Police in 2017 commenced an investigation into the disappearance of the 13 young men who escaped from lawful custody after being brought back to Ghana from Spain where they had gone through stowaway.

They managed to re-arrest one of them, a 31-year-old fridge mechanic, Kweku Eggyir.

According to ASP Appenteng, after series of interrogation, he mentioned the names of 28-year-old Peter Armah and 55-year-old Douglas Ackon both dock workers at the Takoradi Port and residents of Essaman near Sekondi, as those who recruited him and the 12 others.

Their arrest led to the arrest of five other people who are security men and tally clerks of some shipping companies. The modus operandi is to facilitate the entry of stowaways into suitable containers bound for Europe. The group charge between One thousand five hundred to three thousand Ghana cedis as facilitating fee. They have admitted to aiding the 13 who were arrested last year.