Over 170 suspected criminals and terrorists have been arrested in a swoop near the Ghana -Togo border.
The joint operation named Koudanlgou III was simultaneously carried along the borders of Ghana and Togo and selected areas within their national territories.
Officials said it was aimed at clamping down on the activities of criminals and suspected terrorists groups.
“The exercise is aimed at preventing terrorist activities, illegal resource extraction, drug trafficking, dealing in illicit arms, smuggling, among other transnational crimes,” Ghana’s national security minister Albert Kan Dapaah said in a statement.
Some of the suspects possessed illegal weapons, including locally manufactured and foreign single/double barrel guns totalling 108 without any valid document covering them.
“Others too have not had their authorization renewed for years. Illegal miners including foreigners were also arrested at ‘Dollar Power’ near Bole,” the statement added.
Ghana, Ivory Coast and Benin are on alert following threats from Jihadists operating in the neighbouring Burkina Faso.
The Africa Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (ACSIS) recently issued a security alert of an imminent attack from the Salafi-Jihadist group in Burkina Faso on Ghana and Togo.
According ACSIS, the Salafist-Jihadist group members “are also planning to attack churches in countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, and Benin.”
Some West African countries including Nigeria are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks from Islamic militants.
Cameroon has also not been spared from spillover of attacks from Islamic Militant group Boko Haram operating in Nigeria.
Source: Africafeeds.com
