On Friday and Saturday, approximately ninety (90) Ghanaians living unlawfully in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) entered Ghana.
The deportees arrived in two groups via Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines, were processed at Kotoka International Airport by the Ghana Immigration Service, and were then transferred to the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) for further action.
We confirmed that the majority of them traveled to Dubai illegally via fraudulent recruitment agencies, while others overstayed their visas.
A number of these individuals are reportedly in detention after being promised lucrative employment by agents who smuggled them into the country, only to discover the reality.
According to sources at the Ghana Immigration Service, more deportees are expected to arrive in the country within the next few days, as only a fraction of those anticipated have arrived so far.
Recall that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) announced late last year that evacuation efforts for 431 Ghanaians detained in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were underway.
Three hundred forty-one men, eighty-eight women, and two children under the age of three were lured there by agents who promised them jobs in Dubai and other cities in the United Arab Emirates.
They have been detained at the Al Tawadi Medical Centre and the Dubai Immigration Centre, alongside an unknown number of African migrants who have experienced the same fate.
According to a statement issued by MFARI, the government is collaborating with UAE authorities to safely return the stranded nationals to the United States.