A former Deputy Defense Minister, Major (Retired) Derick Oduro, says the re-entry of Chinese national, Huang Ruixia alias Aisha Huang, is due to the fact that our borders are porous.
He admitted that the borders are porous such that people can enter through the many unapproved routes hence Aisha Huang’s ability to enter the country again.
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Reports indicate that, an Accra Circuit Court remanded Chinese Aisha Huang and three others, Jong Li Hua, Huang Jei and Huiad Hiahu for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in Ghana.
The accused persons were charged for engaging in sale and purchase of minerals without a licence.
Aisha Huang is facing an additional charge of engaging in mining without a licence.
She was arraigned last Friday [September 2, 2022] and her plea to the charges are yet to be taken by the court presided over by Bright Acquah since the court had no Chinese interpreter at the time.
While the three other suspects were arraigned Monday, September 5, 2022, Aisha Huang was absent.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charge and have been remanded into custody to reappear on September 14, 2022.
According to the facts presented by the prosecutor, Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Sarpong, Aisha Huang had previously escaped prosecution in Accra when she was arrested in 2018.
According to the prosecutor, she returned to her country [China] and changed her identity only to come back to Ghana to commit the same crime of which she escaped prosecution earlier.
According to the prosecution, the suspect applied for a Togo visa and went through the borders into Ghana and back to the galamsey business in a town in the Ashanti Region.
The three others with her, according to the prosecutor, were selling mining equipment and dealing in gold without a valid licence in Accra.
They were arrested upon intelligence by National Security officials.
They are expected to re-appear before the court on September 14,2022.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Major (Retired) Derick Oduro said, “We all know that the borders of Ghana are porous, the Togo border is from north to south and so you can pass through anywhere to enter the country. I have been through the in and out of the Togo borders. The porous area is a town where you can sleep, wake up and walk across the border, you cannot see clearly that this is border, it is just an imaginary line. When you go to Kpetoi, nothing indicates that this is Ghana or this is Togo, it is just the people who say when you pass here, you are in Togo and when you cross this electricity pole you are in Ghana and so with all these, someone can pass through it and enter the country.”
He continued that,” When you want to come and do something illegal, these are the areas you will pass and it is not the lapses on the part of the security people.”
Meanwhile, Major (Retired) Derick Oduro said Ghana has enough Immigration officers who can be placed at all the borders including the unapproved ones, saying if it is done, then the immigration officers must be responsible for such incidents.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori