The government has announced a decisive policy shift to deport, rather than prosecute, foreign nationals arrested for engaging in criminal activities such as illegal mining and cyber fraud in Ghana.
Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, revealed the new approach during an engagement with the Ashanti Regional Police Command in Kumasi, as part of his working visit to the region on Friday, April 4, 2025.
He explained that the decision aims to protect Ghana’s environment and safeguard citizens from fraudulent schemes orchestrated by foreign operatives in the country.
According to the Minister, investigations by security agencies have exposed complex criminal networks involving foreign nationals operating within Ghana’s forests, unlawfully felling trees, engaging in illegal mining (galamsey), and perpetrating cyber fraud schemes targeting victims worldwide.
“What we found is alarming — sophisticated systems set up by these criminals to exploit our environment and defraud people globally. Many are hidden in our forests, cutting down trees unlawfully, engaging in galamsey, and committing numerous other crimes,” Mr. Muntaka stated.
Under the new policy, foreigners caught engaging in these offences will be deported immediately rather than subjected to prosecution in Ghanaian courts.
“For these two crimes — illegal mining and cyber fraud — when we arrest any foreigner, our priority is not prosecution. We will deport them to their home countries. We are very serious about this,” the Interior Minister emphasised.
Mr. Muntaka directed the police, prosecutors, and the Ghana Immigration Service to collaborate closely to enforce the policy effectively. He noted that police prosecutors had already written to the Attorney-General’s office to facilitate the implementation of this directive.
“Please, if it involves these two crimes, note that prosecutors within the police have officially communicated with the Attorney-General. We are not interested in prosecuting people who are destroying our environment and defrauding others worldwide. We want them out of the country,” he stressed.
The Minister further indicated that deported individuals would be placed on Ghana’s stop list to prevent them from re-entering the country.
“And once deported, we will put them on the stop list, ensuring they never return to our country,” Mr. Muntaka concluded.
