Twenty people, including one woman who crossed into Ghana from Togo, through unapproved routes in violation of the closure of the border last week Wednesday, have been arrested.

All twenty have been placed in mandatory quarantine at a hotel in the Ketu South municipality of the Volta Region.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ketu South municipality, Mr Elliot Edem Agbenorwu disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in Aflao on Wednesday.

He said those arrested were six Nigerians, and 14 Ghanaians made up of teachers, a university lecturer and traders.

Mr Agbenorwu said all the 20 had been “swabbed” by health officials and their samples had been sent to Accra for testing, saying, “We will keep them in the hotel until we know the outcome of the test”.

Meanwhile, the municipal assembly has placed a total ban on the activities of ‘okada operators’ in all the border communities in the area.

The action, Mr Agbenorwu, said was to prevent people from entering the country adding that, “It has emerged that the people who entered the country through unapproved routes were assisted by some ‘okada’ operators.”

He said about 20 motorbikes belonging to ‘okada’ operators had been seized by personnel of the security agencies after the riders fled as they were being chased.

Mr Agbenorwo said the frontier was now sealed and the security agencies were on high alert working around the clock at all the entry points.

As a result of the closure of the border, Aflao is now very silent and desolate, with almost every economic activity at a standstill.