Cape Coast, Jan. 22, GNA - The Central Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Akayire Kamparah, has inaugurated an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit for the region and deplored the fact that Gha= na has been identified as a transit point and the destination of that "dubio= us act". Speaking on the theme "Don't Joke with Human Trafficking"

Mr Kamparah described human trafficking as "dehumanizing and a sin before=

God" and stressed that it is another form of slavery that must be condemn= ed outright.

He said while the perpetrators found it as a lucrative venture and ignore all calls to put a stop to it, many Ghanaians are ignorant of the effects of such activities and fail to report the perpetrators to the police.

He urged all Ghanaians to join forces to combat the canker by promp= tly bringing to the notice of the police those involved in such practices. Mr Kamparah appealed to members of the unit to work tirelessly even thou= gh the job is voluntary. In a speech read for her the Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe, attributed the situation to poverty and ignorance on the par= t of parents who readily offer their child in exchange for a pittance. She expressed regret that lack of enough information on the practice mad= e it difficult to tackle from the right source and appealed to the public t= o assist the police to carry out its duty to reduce the canker. The Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional area, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, ask= ed the public to be vigilant and report suspicious people to the police. Professor Albert Abane, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast who chaired the function, said the establishment of an Anti-Human Trafficking=

Unit in the region was long overdue because many children along the coast= al stretch in the region had fallen victim to the practice. Prof. Abane said the inauguration brought to three the number of the uni= ts in the country and it would be replicated in all the remaining regions by=

the end of the year to rescue victims.