VZCZCXYZ0011
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #1122 2961312
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231312Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8411

UNCLAS ACCRA 001122 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PHUM PGOV XA GH
SUBJECT: GHANA CONVICTS TRAFFICKER AND ARRESTS OTHERS IN 
SEPARATE CASES 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In two recent cases, Ghanaian law enforcement 
used undercover operations to arrest human traffickers.  A 
man from the Western Region was sentenced to four years in 
prison for attempting to sell his eight year old brother, and 
a woman from the Ashanti Region is being prosecuted for 
attempting to sell another woman for ritual purposes. A 
mother and daughter team were also arrested for allegedly 
trafficking a 12 year old Togolese girl from Ghana to 
Nigeria. All of the cases demonstrate the increasing 
attention Ghanaian law enforcement is paying to human 
trafficking issues, as well as their capacity to mount 
undercover operations in the regions.  Patience Quaye, the 
head of the Ghanaian police anti-trafficking unit, has said 
that improved police training has led to the increase in 
arrests. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  (U) A 28 year old man was sentenced October 12 to four 
years in prison by a court in the Western Region after 
pleading guilty to trying to sell his 8 year old brother for 
10,000 GH cedis (approximately $7,000). The brothers lived 
with their mother, who gave her permission for the child to 
travel with his older sibling to visit his brother's friend 
in the Central Region. When the two arrived in town, the 
older brother approached a taxi driver to help find a buyer 
for the child. According to the evidence, the taxi driver 
feigned interest in the purchase but reported the incident to 
police who arrested him in a sting operation. 
 
¶3. (U) In a separate case, a 46 year old female kiosk owner 
was arrested October 7 in the Ashanti Region for attempting 
to traffic her assistant to Cote D'Ivoire for ritual 
purposes. According to media reports, the woman admitted her 
intent to sell her assistant and was remanded into prison 
custody. The victim reportedly told police that she was asked 
by her employer to accompany the woman to buy produce in the 
market where an undercover policeman, acting on a tip-off, 
approached the woman and offered to buy the girl. After some 
negotiation, the price agreed upon was 6,000 GH cedis 
(approximately $4,000). The policeman made a deposit and said 
be would return with the balance; however, he returned with 
uniformed police who arrested the woman. 
 
¶4. (U) A mother and her daughter were arrested on October 13 
in Accra for allegedly trafficking a 12 year old Togolese 
girl from Ghana to Nigeria. The pair pleaded not guilty to 
various trafficking related charges and have been remanded 
into custody. The girl was brought from Togo by her 
grandmother when she immigrated to look for menial work. 
After four years of washing dishes in the eatery owned by the 
accused, the victim's grandmother returned to Togo in 2008 
and left the girl in the custody of the accused. The girl's 
mother recently arrived in Ghana to take the child back to 
Togo and was told by the accused that the girl is in Nigeria. 
The victim's mother filed a complaint with the police, who 
arrested the two accused. 
 
¶5. (U) On October 15, Poloff spoke with Patience A Quaye, 
head of the anti-trafficking unit of the Ghana police. 
Although Quaye would not comment on the specifics of the 
cases, she noted that police training to spot potential 
trafficking is resulting in more arrests. 
TEITELBAUM