Accra July 29, GNA - The Libyan Deputy Minister for Security, Mr M. Mohane, on Monday called for cooperation to fight the upsurge of organized and cross-border crime.

A press statement signed by Mrs Adiza Ofori-Adu, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry, said he was speaking at a meeting with the Deputy Minister for the Interior, Mr Thomas Broni in Accra.

Mr Mohane said criminals were using the highest forms of technology to set up institutions for money laundering, drug trafficking and other high level criminal activities and there was the need for the two countries and all African countries to cooperate, in the spirit of the African Union, to fight crime on the continent.

He pointed out that Africa was being used as a corridor for drug trafficking and it had become necessary for African countries to form a security bloc to fight this.

Mr Mohane said Ghana had a lot of expertise when it came to fighting crime and checking drug trafficking and expressed his countries readiness to join efforts with Ghana to fight crime. The statement said they also discussed the issue of Ghanaian prisoners in Libya.

Mr Mohane said 40 Ghanaian prisoners had been granted amnesty in Libya and expressed his government's preparedness to sign a legal agreement with the Ghana government concerning the transfer of Ghanaian prisoners to Ghana to serve the rest of their sentences. He presented a draft proposal on the transfer of prisoners for consideration by government.

The Libyan Ambassador in Ghana, Mr Mohamed Gamudi, accompanied Mr Mohane.