The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) on Friday, May 16, 2025, conducted a large-scale swoop in Accra, arresting 2,241 foreign nationals, including 1,332 children, as part of an operation to clamp down on street begging and break alleged criminal syndicates behind the growing phenomenon.
Described as an intelligence-led operation, the swoop stunned both the public and the targets, as immigration officers swiftly moved into areas such as Kaneshie Market, Sabon Zongo, Laterbiokoshie, Nima, Abossey Okai, and Obetsebi Lamptey Roundabout to arrest the beggars.
Among the 909 adults arrested were 384 males, many of whom were reportedly operating under coordinated networks that use begging as a source of income, often under the direction of unseen handlers.
The GIS operation is part of an intensified effort to disrupt criminal networks allegedly involved in recruiting foreign nationals—mainly from neighbouring countries—as “professional beggars” who harass pedestrians and motorists for alms. Reports suggest that these individuals are sometimes required to account for daily earnings to their handlers.
Children, especially, have become central to the scheme, with many seen aggressively begging or loitering at traffic intersections throughout the day and night.
“The Ghana Immigration Service undertook an intelligence-led operation to rid Accra’s streets of undocumented foreign nationals involved in begging,” said Assistant Commissioner of Immigration Michael Amoako-Atta, the GIS Head of Public Affairs, in a statement following the exercise.
He added that detainees are currently undergoing security and medical screening at the GIS headquarters in Accra, after which humane repatriation procedures will be followed.
Despite similar repatriation efforts in previous years—including a notable operation in June 2022, which saw over 1,600 Nigerien beggars sent home in collaboration with the Embassy of Niger—the problem has persisted. Many deported individuals reportedly find their way back into Ghana to resume their trade.
The authorities suspect the existence of lucrative cross-border rackets that import beggars and distribute them across the capital, often with adult beggars using children to appeal for sympathy or generate more “sales”.
Efforts to address the issue date back to 2021, when then-Caretaker Gender Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah led a fact-finding initiative to collect data on street children and their operations. The long-term goal was to develop data-driven interventions and support systems for vulnerable children while addressing the migration and criminal elements.
The GIS reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the human rights of all those arrested and called on the public to cooperate as it works to maintain public order and safeguard Ghana’s social fabric.
The sight of foreign beggars, particularly around traffic stops and market areas in Accra, has been a growing concern among residents, who have raised security, public health, and child protection issues.
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