The arrest of a hundred suspected criminals in Huhunya in the Eastern Region could have passed for an ordinary swoop.
The operation which occurred a few days ago however, is one with a difference. The suspects are mostly foreigners who have mastered and perfected the art of swindling using cyber techniques.
Very intelligent criminals are rushing into cyber crime which offers them a safe haven far away from prying eyes.
Unfortunately, the state is not slumbering in such matters. With the creation of a Cyber Authority and the existence of a Cyber Crime Unit at the Police Headquarters, we think that the journey to tackling this new trend in crime has begun.
We are curious about the fact that a small portion of the country could be harbouring so many criminals from neighbouring countries. It would be instructive to find out how long these suspects have been in the country.
A few weeks ago, a group of ECOWAS citizens was deported for engaging in cyber crime in the country a tip of the iceberg, we can bet.
Many innocent Ghanaians are losing monies to these fraudsters who have imparted cyber fraud techniques to their local counterparts.
It is amazing that the criminals fall within the age bracket of 18 and 25.
We are restricted as a country on how much we can deal with the subject under the review. To be seen to be breaching the protocols of the economic community when Ghana is a leading member of the bloc is something we must avoid by all means. Of course that is why we have so many nationals of Niger virtually taking over the ceremonial streets of Accra begging for alms.
Even as we accommodate our ECOWAS neighbours, let us support the security agents especially personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to fish out the criminal elements among them for deportation.
We have our national interest to protect and folding our arms and just grumbling as the bad elements introduce our youth to sophisticated cyber crime should just not be an option.
For the umpteenth time, we shall ask that the citizen vigilante spirit be imbibed by all of us. If we don’t we shall be overrun by criminals from neighbouring countries and what a shame that would be.
Without wishing to sound xenophobic an alien attribute in the average Ghanaian anyway, we wish to ask that non-Ghanaians found to be engaged in cyber crime are deported forthwith.
The warning to landlords to be mindful about prospective tenants’ backgrounds still holds. Unfortunately it would appear that the high rent paid by criminal elements is too enticing to let go by such greedy landlords.
From the strange calls about money wrongly paid into people’s wallets and employment scams among others, we are faced with a new crime wave. We can render the criminals elements useless when we team up with the security agents.