Ghana Immigration Service Arrests Over 600 Undocumented Migrants in Kumasi

• The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has arrested 606 undocumented migrants, including 381 children, during a dawn operation in parts of Kumasi
• The exercise, led by the Ashanti Regional Commander, targeted foreign beggars in areas such as Asawase, Aboabo and Sabon Zongo
• The migrants have since been transported to Prampram for screening to verify their identities

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has arrested over 600 undocumented migrants, including hundreds of children, during a dawn operation across parts of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The raid, carried out in the early hours of Tuesday, April 21, 2026, targeted foreign beggars who had taken over some areas in the city of Kumasi.

Led by the Ashanti Regional Commander of the GIS, DCOI Fred Amankwa, the operation began at 3:30 a.m. and ended at 5:00 a.m.

It covered areas including Asawase, Alabar, Akwatia Line, Dagomba Line, Sabon Zongo, and Aboabo.

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In all, a total of 606 individuals were arrested during the exercise, comprising 381 children, 72 females, and 153 males.

Kumasi residents want beggars repatriated

Residents in Kumasi and surrounding communities have, for years, called for the repatriation of foreign beggars, particularly Nigerien nationals, whose numbers have surged on the streets.

They claim the situation has heightened concerns over public nuisance and poor sanitation.

Many of them were repatriated about two years ago but have since returned.

The GIS said the presence of the beggars has not only created a nuisance but has also contributed to worsening sanitary conditions in affected communities.

The individuals picked up in the dawn operation have been transported to Prampram for further screening to establish their identities.

Read the Facebook post below:

Ghanaians react to arrest of undocumented migrants

Some Ghanaians on social media have reacted to the arrest of the undocumented migrants in Kumasi.

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YEN.com.gh has compiled a few of the reactions below:

@Nana Kay said:

"They didn’t go kejetia and abrepo junction where they are mostly are."

@Guidance Counselor Godwin also said:

"The question is how did they enter Ghana in the first place. Immigration didn't see them enter?"

@Alhaj Mumuni Watarah commented:

"I pray that they are able to sustain this exercise. These people are becoming a nuisance to us."

@Patrick Nartey also commented:

"They just passed to Prampram with several busses loaded with undocumented migrants and Chinese tooo.....Wow kudos on this operation."

@George Dzigbordi-Washington Kwame wrote:

"This is what I call COS90 because at the end of the day your colleagues at the borders would eventually allow them in again by collecting monies from them and the whole cycle would continue."

@Gayram Edudzi Hodo also wrote:

"But after this operation they will be back on the street and you will ask yourself were they sent back to their home countries or they were just cautioned and left to go back to the streets."

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GIS to recruit 1,000 personnel

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the Minister for the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, had indicated that less than 1% of applicants to the Ghana Immigration Services will be recruited.

The minister indicated that more than 180,000 have applied to join the Ghana Immigration Service.

The service’s training and accommodation facilities can only cater to a limited number of selected recruits.

Source: YEN.com.gh