422 Ghanaians, 3 Foreign Nationals Arrested For Engaging In Cyber Crime

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has arrested some 425 persons suspected to be engaged in cybercrime in the country.

The suspects including 422 Ghanaians and three foreign nationals were arrested in a special swoop on Monday, July 10.

The arrest was made in Accra in a collaborative effort between the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Cyber Crime Authority, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Ghana Police Service (GPS).

A statement from the authority said the exercise forms part of a joint cyber security committee operations to clamp down on unlicensed digital loan application platforms.

“Investigations have so far led to the identification of 150 unlicensed digital loan application platforms whose owners/administrators resort to the use of death threats and the non-consensual distribution of private messages, images and videos mainly accessed through authorized permission granted by unsuspecting victims who patronize these digital platforms,” the statement revealed.

The items retrieved during the swoop include 654 mobile phones, 22 laptops, and 800 SIM cards.

The suspects will soon be put before the court to answer the said charges.

Meanwhile, EOCO has cautioned the public to desist from having any form of engagement with unlicensed financial entities that ply their trade online.

Below is a statement to that effect.