Ho, Dec. 12, GNA - Personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service have been urged to step up their vigilance against human trafficking, the third most lucrative illegal business after arms and drug trafficking. That way they would avoid getting trapped in promoting the business and thus protect the integrity of the service as a frontline institution in the fight against the illegal business.

Mr Eric Appiah Okrah, Chief Protection Specialist of UNICEF in Ghana, said this at a three-day workshop for senior and junior immigration officers in the Volta Region in Ho.

He urged the personnel to seize every opportunity at both institutional and individual levels to get well informed about the intricacies of human trafficking.

Mr Okrah said it was necessary for the Ghana Immigration Service to compile a reliable data on all pieces of information that would advice policy decisions on how to deal with the problem of human trafficking. He commended the Service for establishing the Migration Information Bureau (MIB) to serve as a useful catalyst to making the service effective in addressing migration issues, which have the potential of making earnings from foreign remittances the number one foreign exchange earner for the country.

Ms Judith Dzokoto, Comptroller of Immigration, said sometimes human trafficking began as human smuggling in the country of departure but ended up as human trafficking in the countries of destination where the smugglers held their victims to ransom and restricted their freedom. They are made to undergo forced labour, are enslaved and restricted in their movement, have their documents confiscated, subjected to limited movement and need not necessarily cross international boundaries.

Mr Francis Kpobi, Assistant Director of Immigration in charge of the Volta Region, said trafficking of persons was a global development that has a negative impact on human development for, which reason the Service has introduced anti-human trafficking into the training of its cadets. He said the Service has also set up an anti-trafficking desk to coordinate capacity building programmes and other efforts towards reducing human trafficking in the country.